A Beautiful Disaster
by Ambiguous Disposition
Summary: Troy and Gabriella love each other. What is the one thing that could rip them apart? Please R and R! Lots of fluff, and some angst.....
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

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"Good Morning Albuquerque!"

18 year old Gabriella Montez groaned and rolled over to push her snooze button on the alarm. Every morning it went off at 7:00 a.m. and every time it went off she rolled over and hit the snooze button. She could already hear her mother's footsteps on the stairs coming to make sure she actually got out of bed.

"Gabby, come on, you'll be late." Said Mrs. Montez as she opened up the curtains and let the sunshine in.

"Ok, mom. Be right up." Gabby mumbled from under the blankets. Right as she thought she was ok she felt the covers being tugged off of her and was suddenly blinded by the bright lights.

"Mami, I said I would get up!"

"I know honey, but I wanted to have breakfast together before I go to work today." She replied in a sing song voice as she went back downstairs to the kitchen. Gabby pulled herself off the bed and headed to the bathroom to get ready for another day at East High.

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Gabby smiled to herself as she walked up the stairs to the school and heard the first bell ring. That meant that she had exactly ten minutes to get to her locker grab her things and make it to class on time. Still groggy she made it through the halls and turned the corner to find herself face to face with basketball star Troy Bolton.

"Running late are we?" He said as he smirked slightly.

"Oh, Mr. Bolton, you know I have impeccable timing, now if you would kindly get out of my way, I could get to my locker and keep that spotless record." She said as she tried to pass him.

"That is what a get instead of a 'good morning'?" She giggled as she stood on her toes and gave him a kiss.

"Good morning." She said right as the tardy bell rang. She looked at Troy and couldn't help but smile.

"Oops, sorry gabs……" he said sheepishly as she walked past him and opened her locker.

"Well, it looks like we are going to have to find a way for you to make it up to me." She said without looking at him.

"And what might that be?"

"I think we both know the answer to that question." She said as she shut her locker and took him by the hand.

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They decided that if they wanted to get some "alone time" so Troy could make it up to Gabriella, they would have to go somewhere a little more private than the school. So they made their way to Troy's car and headed over to his house where they were sure they wouldn't be bothered. They barely made it to the front door before Gabriella jumped into his arms and began kissing him fiercely. This was a side of her only Troy could bring out. She helped him take his shirt off and he tried unsuccessfully to take hers off as well. She pulled apart from their kiss giggling and unbuttoned it herself. He smiled as he went in to kiss her again and put her down.

"Lets take this to my room." He whispered in her ear and noticed that just his breath on her neck made her shiver with anticipation. She jumped off of him and grabbed him by the hand as she made a quick dash for his bedroom door.

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"Do you think we should go back to class?" said Gabby as she pulled the sheets up around herself.

"I think we can throw that plan out the door, it's already noon, so its lunch. Why do you need to be back?"

"I just had to turn a paper in for my social problems class. But I can do that anytime before schools out, so as long as I am back there before 2:10 I am fine." She replied as she lay back down and positioned herself between his arms. They both knew that skipping class probably wasn't a good idea, but who could resist? Gabriella felt Troy tense up and knew that he had something on his mind. He had been that way for a few days now, and she knew that he would come to her if something was bothering him, so it had to be something big if he wasn't sharing it with her. Just as thoughts were running through her head they were interrupted by Troy's voice.

"Gabriella?"

"Yeah?" she answered wearily.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

"You know you can talk to me about anything."

"Yeah, I know. And you know I don't like keeping things from you, so this has been kind of hard." Just as he said that, a ton of horrible thoughts began running through her head. What could be wrong with him? What was he keeping from her? Was it going to break them apart?

"What is it?" She held her breath and waited for the worst.

"Gabby, I love you. You bring out the best in me, and no one makes me feel the way you do. Like I can do anything. And I want to make sure that you know I will feel this way forever."

"Troy I feel the same way about you." She said smiling as she held tears back. He suddenly got out of bed and kneeled down on the floor. She gasped and suddenly realized what was going on.

"Gabriella Montez, will you marry me?" he said as he slipped his class ring off of his finger and held it out to her.

"I know it's not much, but it's what I want to offer to you until I can get you a real ring. But for now, this is what I want you to wear, to show how much I love you." He sat there, giving his heart to her in the palm of his hand and she couldn't say a word. She stared at him with her mouth open trying to find the words, but her mind was drawing blanks.

"You know, this might be a good time to say something. It's getting kind of cold here in my boxers." He said with a crooked smile. She finally seemed to regain her breath and started to breathe heavily.

"YES!" she screamed and lunged at him. He laughed as she toppled him over and they both landed hard on the floor.

"You had me worried there for a second."

"You have nothing to worry about. There is nothing I want more in this world." She said crying and laughing at the same time.

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"Gabriella Bolton. I think I like the sound of that." She said as she held her hand out in front of her. They were driving back to school and this all still seemed very surreal to her.

"I think I like the sound of that too." Troy responded with the biggest smile on his face. She smiled and put her hand down. Troy Bolton had asked her to marry him. Of course it wouldn't be right away, but they had planned on going to the same colleges anyway, so this would work out perfectly. They would wait until they graduated high school and maybe get married the summer after their senior year was over. Both Troy and Gabriella's parents knew this would happen sooner or later, so it wouldn't be a shock to them. Everything was working out so perfectly. They would be finished with high school in one month, and then they would be getting ready to start their lives together. Gabriella couldn't be any happier then she was at that very moment.

"Troy, this is all so perfect. I can't wait to tell my mom and all of our friends." Gabby said as Troy turned his head and looked at her.

"I love you so much Gabby."

"I love you too Troy." She said as they crashed head on into the truck that had lost control less then a block away.

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Ok, Kind of a cliff hanger but I didn't know if this should be a one shot or if I should go on and make it into a story. It could go either way, so if you want me to go on let me know. And I will be more then happy to oblige. Reviews are greatly appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

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**One Year Earlier**

"Dude, when are you just going to ask her out?" Chad asked Troy while he munched away on one of Zeke's famous cookies. Basketball season had just ended and they won yet another year. Troy and Chad were in the empty gym eating some of their friend's snacks while they waited for the girls to arrive.

"It's not that easy Chad. I mean it isn't like you and Tay, there is more to it."

"More to it how? You mean in the sense that you guys have been dancing around this idea for what a year now? And nothing has happened?"

"No, I mean there is more to it in a sense that I don't want to ruin anything between us. What we have, I can't even begin to describe it. Its just perfect, how things are right now."

"How are things perfect man? What's going to happen when she starts dating other guys because you never stepped up to the plate?" Troy had never thought about Gabriella dating other guys. He had always thought that she would just be there for him. No one else. He couldn't respond to Chad's last comment because he just didn't know how.

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"Gabriella hey wait up!" Taylor yelled as she saw Gabby walking down the hall. Now that they didn't have to worry about any competitions coming up, Gabby and Tay usually spent their free periods with Troy and Chad in the gym just talking and hanging out until their next classes started. Gabriella slowed down and turned around to face her friend.

"Hey, I thought I was going to meet you in the gym with the boys?"

"Yeah, well I needed to talk to you. What's going on with you and Troy?"

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, nothing has happened since that first year you got here. You two are either the most oblivious people I have ever known or you are really good at acting like there is some weird connection between you." Gabby slowed her pace down at this last comment. Taylor was right. Ever since the musical, everything seemed to be put on hold. She knew she felt about him, she loved him from the first day they had laid eyes on each other at the lounge over winter break. But nothing had seemed to change. They were just friend, even though everyone around them had seemed to find their match. Sharpay and Zeke, Kelsey and Jason, Tay and Chad, even Ryan had found a girl that went to a school not too far from there. The only ones that seemed to be going to nowhere was the all power couple Troy and Gabriella.

"I don't know what to tell you Tay. Is it that obvious?"

"You would have to be dead to not notice the chemistry between you two, and even then I'd still have my doubts."

"I'm just too afraid to ruin anything. I mean, he is just so special to me, and he is one of the most amazing people I have ever known."

"That is why you should go for it! I mean, would you rather play it safe and keep things how they are, wait for a girl to come and take Troy away for the sake of not ruining things. Or, you can go for it and see what can happen; it could be good for you."

"Or, it could be really bad, and we could crash and burn horribly." Replied Gabriella miserably.

"No one got anywhere thinking that way Gabby."

"I know, but its hard not to in this situation you know?"

"No I don't know, I can only imagine. I think you should go for it."

"That's easy for you to say, I mean Chad asked you out first."

"That's true."

"Thanks, you are a lot of help."

"Hey what are friends for?" said Taylor laughing. Gabby looked at her and couldn't help but laugh too. She was trying to help; she just wasn't very good at it." They finally got to the gym and Gabriella stopped at the doors. Of course she had thought about the situation between her and Troy before, but it hadn't really bothered her this much. She had never thought of Troy with another girl. And it really did bother her more then she thought it would've.

"Gabby? What's wrong? They are waiting for us."

"I know, I just got really nervous for some reason, I'm fine, but can we just talk about the whole Troy thing later? Lets just you know, play it cool for now?"

"Yeah that's fine." Taylor responded with a smile. She opened the doors and let Gabriella walk in before her.

"Hey guys. Have any more cookies left for us?" Gabriella said trying to keep herself calm.

"Mhhm fhsuppd……" Chad said with a full mouth.

"Chad, remember what I said, chew, swallow and then allow words to come out of your mouth." Taylor said with a little bit of annoyance in her voice. Chad quickly chewed what was left in his mouth and swallowed what he could.

"Nope, sorry." He said sheepishly. Taylor rolled her eyes and went to sit down next to her boyfriend. Gabriella stood there as if waiting for an invitation to come and join them. You could cut the tension in the room with a butter knife.

"Hey Gabby, um you want to sit down?" Troy said not realizing how shaky his voice was until he said it. Luckily Gabriella was so nervous herself that she didn't even seem to notice.

"Uh yeah sorry. I was just um watching." Immediately after she said that Gabriella mentally kicked herself and headed over to sit next to Troy. They all sat in silence for a few long minutes before Taylor cut in.

"So, Chad, I need your help."

"Help with what?"

"I have a chemistry project in my locker and I need your help taking it to the lab."

"Listen could Troy do it? I ate way too many cookies."

"No, I want you to help me. So get up." Taylor said as she grabbed him by the arm and started to pull him out of the gym. Gabriella of course knew that they didn't have any project due, so basically they were being set up. Troy on the other hand, seemed completely oblivious.

"Do you need help carrying your project too?" he said genuinely. Gabriella giggled and said,

"No I think I have it under control. Thanks though."

"Yeah no problem." They sat in silence for a while longer and just as Gabriella began to curse Tay in her mind, Troy began to speak.

"So, school. Almost out huh?"

"Um yeah, you know you go here too right?"

"Yeah, right."

"Yeah." They sat in silence a moment longer and were looking at everything but each other. Just as Gabriella was getting sick of it and was about to just let it all out, Troy actually came through.

"Hey, do you maybe want to go out this weekend, I mean me and you. Like to a movie? Or out to eat? Or just whatever……? I mean if you don't I understand I just thought I would ask, you know just in-"

"Troy I'd love to."

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Ok there is chapter 2. I really love these characters and I wanted to kind of flow with the story. I already know what I want to happen so a one shot just wouldn't have been fair. What happened in chapter 1 is near the end, the story is basically going to lead up to that. It is a lovey dovey story, but of course, not all can be sweet in life. Please review I really enjoyed getting your guys' input! Thanks so much!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! **

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Gabriella paced back in forth in her room as she was trying to decide on what she was going to wear. Tonight was the night of the much anticipated date between her and Troy, and nothing seemed at all appealing to her. She heard a knock at her door and was relieved to open it and see Taylor on the other side.

"I came as fast as I could."

"Thanks Tay, I am freaking out. I don't have anything to wear." Gabby said as she plopped down on her bed. Taylor looked around Gabby's normally very neat and tidy room to find that there were clothes scattered everywhere. She looked in Gabby's closet and there was nothing inside. Tay assumed that all of its contents were now at her feet.

"Since when were you such a girl?" Taylor asked laughing. Gabby sat up and rolled her eyes, why did Tay think this was funny? This was a huge thing for her.

"I knew I made a mistake in calling you. I should've called Sharpay."

"Yeah, if you wanted to look like a pretty pink cupcake. And I don't think she would've answered your call anyways. Word on the street is that she and Zeke are no more."

"Are you serious?"

"Dead serious. And apparently, when she heard you and Troy finally had a real date, she wasn't too happy about that either."

"That's odd." Gabby said, but didn't pay too much attention to it. She had more important matters to deal with.

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"Chad man, I am freaking out." Troy said to his best friend right as he walked into his front door.

"Dude, what's the problem?"

"What's the problem? I am taking Gabriella out on our first real date. I don't know if I can make it. I have been feeling sick all day."

"Why? You guys hang out all the time."

"Yeah we hang out all the time, but we are going out, like on a date. This is a big deal." Chad couldn't help but laugh at his friend. He hadn't seen him this nervous since the opening night of the musical. And even then, he wasn't this bad.

"Everything will work out fine, I mean you have already gone through the hard part, you know asking her out?"

That's true. But I mean what If it's a bust? How do I end the night? Do I give her a hug? Do I kiss her?"

"Do whatever feels right. You know go with the flow."

"Go with the flow?"

"Yeah go with the flow. That is what I did with Taylor."

"Yeah, and look how good things turned out there." Chad nodded in agreement as he began looking through Troy's fridge.

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Gabby looked at her clock for the fifth time in the last five minutes. Troy would be there any second now and she was still a nervous wreck. She had never really felt this way about anyone, so it was an unsettling feeling. She had decided on dressing casually, nothing too over the top. Just a simple white skirt, black ballet slip ons and a nice black tank top. She kept smoothing her skirt down and crossing and uncrossing her legs. She couldn't help but feel like this feeling only happened to her. No one else could possibly feel this anxious about anything. Just as she was about to look at the clock again, she heard a knocking at her balcony window. Without giving it a second thought she got up and moved the curtain aside to find Troy standing on her balcony. As soon as she saw his smile, every single bad feeling she had seemed to wash away. She opened the door and smiled.

"What are you doing?"

"Well hello to you too. You know, I went to your door, but something felt a little off about it. So I decided to give the balcony a try. You look great." She giggled and felt herself blush a little bit.

"You do too. But I hate to break it to you; my mom is waiting downstairs for you to arrive and for me to make my grand entrance."

"Oh right, it wouldn't look too good if I just came down the stairs with you right?" Gabriella laughed and shook her head as she stepped back into her room.

"Alright, well I will see you in a bit." Troy said before making his way back down from the balcony. Gabriella shut the door behind her and ran to the mirror. She took a deep breath and smoothed her hair down a bit then heard the doorbell ring.

"Gabriella? Troy is here!" she heard her mom yell up the stairs.

"Coming mom!" she said as she grabbed her purse and headed out the door.

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The date was going really well, they had gone to this outdoor mall called the Gateway for dinner and had eaten at a sushi bar. She didn't like sushi, and neither did Troy, but luckily there were other things available on the menu. She thought it was kind of funny that he took her to a place that neither one of them liked, but he was trying his best to impress her. She would've been content with any restaurant, even if it was fast food. Just as long as she was with him. They were now walking hand in hand in the mall, since it was outdoors they could walk through it, even though there wasn't anything open anymore. But in the middle of the mall there was a big open space where they had a bunch of fountains that danced along with music, and they were absolutely breathtaking at night. So Troy thought it would be a good idea to take her there before he took her out for dessert. They sat down on the benches and watched the water leap out of the ground. Up until then, the conversation had been going pretty smooth, but now they had seemed to run out of things to talk about.

"So, it's a beautiful night." Troy said trying to get the conversation going again.

"Yeah it is. Thank you so much for taking me here. It's really nice."

"Yeah, no problem. I just can't believe you haven't been here before. I mean you have lived here for awhile now."

"I know, but I'm not a big mall person."

"Oh I'm not either; it was just kind of a big thing when it opened."

"Well if I had known I would've come, it doesn't have that mall atmosphere you know?" Troy nodded in agreement even though he really had no idea what she was talking about. He didn't even know what a mall atmosphere was. Just then he realized that he was with one of the most beautiful girls that he had ever seen. He watched her as she watched the water dance. The excitement in her face. Her mere presence just lit up whatever room she walked into. At that very moment, he could feel himself falling in love with Gabriella Montez.

"Gabby?"

"Yes?" she said as she turned at met his eyes. As soon as she looked into them she realized the intensity of that moment. If he didn't feel it too, then she didn't know what she would do. It was so strong and powerful, you really would have to be dead not to feel it. Just as Troy was about to go in and kiss her, his watch beeped and he was sucked back into the reality of the moment.

"We have to go." He could see the disappointment in her face and would've have loved nothing more then to kiss her right there, but the night wasn't over yet.

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"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise, just trust me. And no peeking!" Troy had blindfolded Gabriella to take her to the next part of the date.

"Ok, stand here. Don't take it off yet." He let go of her and walked away. Gabriella couldn't help but feel a little bit nervous. She couldn't see and didn't know what as going on. But then she remembered who she was with and that all went away.

"Ok, now." She lifted her hands up to her face and removed the cloth. She couldn't help but gasp at what she saw. There was a little table set up, with candles and a bottle of apple cider sitting in a chilled bucket with ice. The table was covered in yellow rose petals which was her favorite color. On the middle of the table there was a plate with a cover on it. All around the table there were smaller candles including some that lit a small pathway for her to walk through. Troy was waiting for her at the end of it with a single red rose in his hand. She didn't even bother to look at where they were, but when she did it took her breath away. There was this place called the top of the world, it overlooked the whole city, which at night just looked like a bunch of blinking lights.

"Oh Troy. This is amazing! How did you-?"

"I had some help from some of the guys on the team."

"You really didn't have to."

"Yes I did." He said smiling as he walked out to her and handed her the rose.

"You really do look stunning." She smiled and knew that her face had to be bright red right now, but she didn't care. They stood there for a moment staring in each others eyes. Gabriella couldn't think of a more perfect evening.

"Gabby, I have wanted to do this for the longest time. I just didn't know how. And I want you to know how I feel about you. You are so amazing, the most amazing person I have ever known. I have never felt this strongly about anything in my life. I know this sounds kind of cheesy, but it's all true. And I was just wondering if……"

"Yes." He didn't even have to finish. She knew exactly what he was going to say. She had been waiting for this for a long time, and it was all finally happening. She smiled as she wrapped her arms around him. He pulled away and at last gave her the kiss that they had both been waiting for. Now Gabriella really couldn't think of a better evening.

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Ok there it is. I am using references to places that are here in Utah because that is where I live and I have never been to Albuquerque. And since the movie was filmed here anyways I thought it could work out. Thanks so much for the reviews guys! I really do love em and it keeps me wanted to update as soon as I can so keep em coming!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Disclaimer: Once again, I own nothing…..**

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The weekend had gone by quickly since the date Gabriella had with Troy. She hadn't seen him since Friday night and it was already Sunday night. It didn't really worry her; she had just wished she could've seen him before Monday morning. Even though he did ask her to be his girlfriend she still couldn't help but to be unsure about the situation. Taylor had tried to reassure her and tell her that everything was alright and that she needed to stop worrying but she couldn't help it. Just as she lay down and climbed into her bed she heard her phone start to ring. She looked at it and saw Troy's face appear. She couldn't help but smile before answering.

"Hello?"

"Gabby? Hey it's Troy."

"Hi, is everything ok? I mean it is midnight."

"I know, but I haven't seen you since Friday and I was just in the neighborhood."

"You were just in the neighborhood?"

"Yeah, and I couldn't help but notice your light was on….."

"Troy, you live about a mile from here."

"I know, I was going to get some ice cream."

"Yeah that is two miles in the other direction."

"Why must you bother with technicalities?" Gabriella giggled. She knew what he was doing, trying to come up with an excuse for being near her house. But In reality, he didn't need an excuse.

"So then, what can I do for you?"

"Well you could start by opening the door." Gabriella hung up her phone and got out of bed. She went to the door but not before making a quick stop at her mirror. She opened the door and saw Troy in his pajamas.

"I couldn't sleep." He said shyly. She smiled and stepped back to let him in.

"Well, I couldn't either. You know, we should really stop meeting like this."

"Yeah, we could do that, but if that is what you really wanted then I am sure you would've cut that tree down by now."

"Good point." Gabriella shut the door behind him and walked over to her bed. She sat on the edge of it and waited for him to join her.

"You can sit down you know."

"Well I was just being polite and waiting for an invitation."

"In that case you just got one. Sit." She said as she patted the spot next to her. He made his way over to her bed and sat down.

"Nice bed."

"Thanks."

"No problem." You would have to be a complete idiot not to realize how awkward this conversation was. They both sat there trying to figure out what to say next when Gabriella heard a knocking at her door.

"Gabby? Is everything alright?" panicked Gabriella grabbed Troy by the arm and stuffed him under her bed.

"Yeah mami, fine! Why?"

"I heard something outside, are you sure you're ok?"

"Yes fine. I didn't hear anything." Gabby said as she headed over to the door and opened it.

"See everything's fine." She said as she motioned for her mom to come in.

"Ok, honey. Well I am going to bed. Get me if you need anything."

"Alright mom. Love you."

"Love you too hija." Gabriella shut the door and made sure to lock it.

"Can I come out now?"

"Uh yeah sorry." She said as she went over to the side of the bed and helped him climb out from under it.

"You know your closet probably would have been an easier plan…."

"Oh, I didn't even think about that. Now I know for next time."

"Next time?"

"What do you really expect me to believe that you aren't going to come up to my balcony ever again?"

"Well, no."

"Ok then. Plus its very Romeo and Juliet….I kind of like it."

"Romeo and Juliet? The two most ill fated lovers known to date? I don't know if I like the sound of that."

"I don't mean that in the sense that they don't end up together and die. I mean it in a way saying that it was all very romantic. You know they had a balcony scene in that too."

"No, sorry. Never saw the movie." Gabriella laughed and sat on her bed. Troy didn't wait for an invitation and sat down next to her this time. The knock on the door had made them forget about any discomfort hat had been going on before, so now it was as awkward as it was when he had first gotten there.

"So I had a lot of fun the other night."

"Me too, i'm glad you said yes."

"I'm glad too. I can't believe I've never been to those places before. I think I might need to get out more."

"Oh there are tons of things you don't know about. I would be more then happy to take you to them. I mean that is kind of my duty, now that I am your boyfriend." Gabriella felt her stomach fill up with butterflies as soon as that word came out of his mouth. She was actually his girlfriend.

"I would really like that." She finally said. He smiled and took her hand. She looked so perfect at that moment. He couldn't let this opportunity pass him. He leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. She let him do it and she didn't sop him when he intensified it. It wasn't like she could even she had wanted to. Everything just seemed so perfect she didn't want to ruin it. She felt herself relax and leaned back on her bed. Before she knew it he was on top of her and his hands were slowly making there way up to the hem of her shirt. She broke away from the kiss and sat up.

"I can't Troy. I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's ok. If you're not ready, then I can wait. I hope you know I didn't come here expecting anything. I'm sorry I just kind of got carried away."

"No I know. I understand what you mean. But it's just not right yet. And if and when it does happen, I want us to both be sure of it."

"And I completely respect that. I never want to hurt you."

"Thank you for understanding Troy." Gabriella said as she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Well, just because we can't do that other thing…..doesn't mean we can't cuddle right?"

"Troy Bolton likes to cuddle?"

"Troy Bolton likes to do a lot of things…..you will be surprised." Gabriella smiled and climbed under her blankets then motioned for Troy to come underneath and join her.

"I knew there was a good reason for me not to change out of my pajamas." Troy said as he snuggled up next to her. Gabriella nodded and just realized how tired she really was. She felt a wave of sleepiness come over her and let her eyes shut. Troy looked to his side and saw that Gabriella was asleep. He leaned over and gently kissed her on the forehead trying his best not to wake her up. He leaned back and shut his eyes only to let them rest for a minute. He let himself think of how lucky he was to be at the side of such an amazing person and without realizing it he let himself slip off into a dreamless slumber.

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Troy woke up to an alarm clock ringing loudly in his ear. He felt Gabriella stir beside him and he looked at the clock.

"Gabby, wake up. It's seven."

"Ten more minutes Troy." She lay still for a moment then shot straight up.

"TROY? Oh my god you have to leave!"

"You know you have the worst manners, you can't say hello, you can't say good morning….."

"Troy I'm serious. My mom will be up here any minute. And then you can say goodbye to your balcony escapades."

"Alright, alright I'm up." He said as he got out of the bed and headed to the door. He opened the door and turned around.

"One more thing Gabby."

"Yeah?"

"I love waking up to you." And with that he climbed off the balcony and was gone.

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Thank you soooooo much for the reviews! They are awesome.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

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It had been about a month since Troy and Gabriella had become official and things couldn't be better. School was out and they were enjoying their summer together and with their friends. Today they were having a barbeque at Troy's house with a couple of friends to celebrate the ending of their school year. Gabriella was waiting at her house for Taylor to arrive. Chad, Jason, Zeke, Kelsey, Ryan and Sharpay were all waiting for them at Troy's house. Gabriella had just finished putting on her clothes when she heard a knock at her door.

"Come in."

"Hey! You almost ready?" Taylor said as she walked into her room.

"Yeah, I just have to put some things in my purse and we can leave." Taylor nodded and sat down on Gabriella's bed.

"So, you and Troy are doing well?" Gabby couldn't help but smile at the mention of his name.

"Yeah, we are. I am so happy that we finally decided to become something more than friends. I have to say you were right."

"See? You need to listen to me more often."

"Yeah maybe I should. Hey I just thought of something. Wont it be weird having Sharpay and Zeke over at the same time? I mean I haven't hung out with them both at together since they broke up."

"Well that is what I thought so I asked Chad about it. He said that they still talk and are civil to each other. I guess they don't want to break the group up you know?"

"That's nice of them. I don't know if I would handle that so well."

"That's because you and Troy are different. Sharpay and Zeke, well……lets just say that was all wrong from the beginning."

"How so?"

"Sharpay, the ultimate drama queen, with laid back and "nice guy" Zeke? I am just surprised they lasted that long."

"That's not a very nice thing to say Tay."

"Well I am just saying what everyone else wont." Taylor said as she got up and fixed her hair in the mirror.

"Besides, they don't seem too broken up about it. To be honest, I think Sharpay never really cared at all and Zeke was just too awestruck to see it. And when he finally did, I guess it didn't hurt too badly. I mean I wouldn't mind being rid of her either."

"Taylor! Come on."

"What? I'm just saying……" Gabriella grabbed her purse and turned off her lamp.

"Come on. We don't want to be any later then we already are." She said as she headed towards the door.

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When Gabriella and Taylor arrived, everyone was waiting for them in the back. There was a radio playing music and the grill was already cooking the food. Troy and Chad were wearing aprons that said "Kiss the cook" and were standing by the grill watching the food. Kelsey and Jason were at a huge picnic table setting up the dressings for the hotdogs and hamburgers while Sharpay and Ryan were setting up the chips and drinks.

"Hey guys!" said Taylor as she walked up to the group. Gabriella wasn't far behind.

"Where is Zeke?" asked Gabriella.

"Oh he was baking up some dessert and just had to put some finishing touches on it. He should be here any second." Said Jason.

"Oh yum I can't wait to see what he has made for us." Said Gabriella while she headed over to Troy.

"Hey there." Troy said as he pulled Gabriella into a hug.

"Oh so do I get to kiss the cook?" she said mockingly while she pointed at his apron.

"Hey don't make fun! I am in charge of your food." He said.

"Oh right sorry." She said as she kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Ok guys break it up…….let e get a look at you Gabs!" Ryan said as he rushed up to meet them. They hadn't seen each other since school ended and he was so excited to see her again. They had become close over the last year and lately things had been kind of busy for Gabriella so they didn't spend a lot of time together.

"Hey Ry! Oh I missed you!" she said as he picked her up into a fierce hug.

"I missed you too! You know all of this could be avoided if someone could pick up the phone and use it sometime." She smiled and replied,

"I know I am sorry! That is going to change."

"Oh don't worry I understand. When Shannon and I first started dating we couldn't get enough of each other."

"Oh speaking of which, when do we get to meet her?" said Kelsey.

"Actually today, she is coming over here today to meet you guys." Everyone began talking all at once about how excited they all were to meet her when Zeke showed up holding a few plates of cookies and brownies for the gang.

"Hey guys! I hope I brought enough for everyone!" Everyone rushed over to Zeke and helped him carry some of the food. They helped him set some of the plates down on the table and went back to the grill next to Troy and Chad.

"Hello Sharpay." Zeke said as he walked up to the group.

"Hi Zeke." She responded as coldly as she possibly could. Everyone sat in silence for a moment before Mr. Bolton came out with a basketball in hand.

"Hey everyone! How's the barbeque going?" he said as he made his way down to them.

"Great Mr. Bolton. Thanks for letting us come over." said Gabriella cheerfully.

"Of course Ms. Montez, it's always a pleasure seeing you. So, whose up for a game of ball?" he said to the rest of the group. All of the boys except for Ryan eagerly accepted the offer and decided to go play a game.

"Ryan you have to join, it's an uneven number." Yelled Zeke from the court.

"If he plays he gets to be on Troy's team!" Yelled Chad.

"Wow, now I really want to join." Said Ryan.

"Its ok Ryan, he won't be laughing when we kick his ass. Come on!" said Troy trying to make up for Chad's big mouth. Ryan got up to join the guys in the game while the girls sat out and watched them.

"So Gabriella how's life in paradise?" asked Sharpay.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you have the hottest boy toy in the school drooling like a puppy dog over you."

"Boy toy Sharpay?"

"You know what I mean. Not all of us could be so lucky."

"Its fine I guess."

"Fine? How could it be just fine? Troy Bolton is your boyfriend."

"Yeah, I know. It's not something that is completely out of this world."

"Yes it is. I mean you come out of nowhere, literally. You get the lead in the school play, you snag the high schools hottest guy, and you happen to be some super brain freak. Trust me, that just isn't normal." Sharpay said looking over her sunglasses. Taylor seemed to notice Gabriella's discomfort and decided to jump in.

"You know what's out of this world Sharpay? The fact that you are here, and no one even likes you all that much. And your perfume doesn't really help matters, you smell like a French whore." Kelsey tried to hold back a smirk which turned into a snort. Gabriella giggled but didn't even bother hiding it, and Taylor just sat and watched in amusement as Sharpay sat there with her mouth hanging open.

"You might want to close that; a fly could just buzz right in there." Kelsey said. It felt really to finally get Sharpay to shut the hell up.

"You know what? This sun is no good for my completion. I have to go." Said Sharpay in a hurry as she got up and gathered up her stuff.

"Hey where are you going?" Ryan yelled from the court.

"HOME." Said Sharpay as she walked into the house and out to her car. Ryan came back from the court and walked up to the girls.

"What's with her?" he asked Gabriella.

"I think she just realized this probably wasn't the place to be."

"That's too bad. Shannon isn't even here yet." He said as he shrugged his shoulders and sat down.

"How's the game going?" asked Taylor.

"I don't even think they remembered that I was playing." He said as he lay down on the grass.

"Its ok ry, you can out dance and out sing them any day." Said Gabriella cheerfully.

"Well, except for Troy of course." He said. They all giggled and sat in the sun for awhile when they heard a voice coming from inside the house.

"Hello? Am I in the right place?" said a girl carrying some bags.

"Shannon!" said Ryan as he jumped up to greet her. The guys from the court noticed and came over to the group.

"Everyone, I would like you to meet Shannon." Ryan said proudly as he grabbed the bags and helped her carry them to the table. They all came up and said their hellos. They were all talking amongst themselves when Shannon asked,

"So, did I miss anything?" all the girls laughed and pulled her over to their little sitting area while they watched the boys finish the rest of the game.

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Ok guys, not a lot of Troyella fluff, just a bit of foreshadowing………once again thanks for all the awesome reviews!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

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Gabriella watched her window as rain was pouring down outside. It was the one day in summer that it was raining and it was really coming down. She loved the rain, but today something just wasn't right. Like that feeling where you are forgetting something or something is missing. She couldn't help but feel that something was out of place. She had cleaned her room five times and had rearranged her whole closet, including the shoes, socks and hangers by colors. But nothing was helping. She lay down on her bed and decided to listen to some music to put her at ease. She was reading a book when there was a light tapping at the window. She turned over and saw Troy. She walked over and opened the door.

"Hey there, what can I help you with?"

"I was just in the neighborhood…..again."

"Let me guess, it's too early for sleep so…..you wanted some ice cream?"

"Actually no, I wanted to see my girlfriend." She smiled and was about to give him a hug when she noticed that he was drenched.

"Oh my gosh, here come in. what in the world were you thinking?" she said as she rushed him inside.

"I just told you what I was thinking, I wanted to see you." He said shivering. Her heart couldn't help but melt. She stood up on her toes and gently kissed him. She pulled away and said,

"Ok, let's get you out of these clothes and into a hot bath. I can dry these while you take a shower."

"Oh my, Gabriella you wouldn't be trying to seduce me now are you?"

"Give me a little more credit Troy. I don't want my baby to get sick." She said blushing furiously right after.

"Your baby?"

"Come on, lets go to my bathroom." She said trying to change the subject as quickly as possible.

"Ok." He said with a smile on his face. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into her bathroom. She started to take off his shirt when she caught herself and realized what she was doing. She stopped and walked over to the closet to get him some towels.

"Ok, get undressed and jump in the shower, I can come and get your clothes while you are in there and put them to dry." She said all in one breath. She handed him the towels and stepped outside the bathroom. She waited a few minutes after shutting the door and heard the water running.

"Ok you can come in now!" Said Troy from the other side. She opened the door and saw Troy's figure behind the curtain, she couldn't see many details but her imagination was enough. She sat there for a moment dumbfounded before snapping back into reality and realizing he could probably see her. She picked up his clothes and headed for the door. She shut it and went downstairs to the laundry room. Her mom wasn't home so she didn't have to worry about any suspicious questions. In fact, her mom would be out all night. She had met someone a few weeks back and they were out on a date. Her mom had told her not to wait up and that they would have brunch and talk about it tomorrow. Gabriella was now old enough to know when her mom wanted to be alone and why. It didn't bother her.

"Gabriella?" Troy called from upstairs.

"Coming!" she said as she put the clothes in the dryer. She walked back upstairs and into her room to find herself face to face with Troy. But, not just any Troy, Troy dripping wet in a towel. She half smiled looking for the words to say.

"You were right about the shower, I feel great." He said while he towel dried his hair. She couldn't speak so she just kind of nodded. They sat there for a moment and Gabriella couldn't help but look at his chest. He was so well toned from basketball. She knew that before but it was different now. She felt her breathing get heavier and looked up into his eyes.

"Troy?" she whispered softly to him.

"Yes Gabby?" he said waiting for a question. She didn't give him one; instead she put her hand on his chest and reached up to kiss him. She hadn't planned on it but the timing just seemed so perfect, she couldn't resist. He didn't hesitate to kiss her back. They stood there for a moment completely entranced by each others touch, when Gabriella pulled away.

"Are you ok?" Troy asked her as she looked down. She nodded and took his hand. He followed her as she walked over to her bed. She kissed him again but this time with more passion. He responded and began to lean into her making it so she would lay down on the bed. She didn't stop him and just kept kissing him. He stopped and looked at her.

"Are you sure?" he asked softly. He knew what this would lead to and he knew that if he didn't stop now he wouldn't later on.

"Yeah. I'm ready." She said as she went in to kiss him again. She knew that she was ready and so was he.

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Troy looked at the ceiling reflecting on what had just happened. It had been the first time for both of them and he didn't expect that that would happen when he came over that day. She gave Gabriella a little squeeze and he heard her giggle a little bit.

"So, this was unexpected." He said. She smiled and couldn't help but agree. She didn't know what had come over her, but it felt right. She didn't regret a single thing.

"Yeah, but I am ok with it, are you?" she asked him.

"Of course I am ok with it. I mean I'm not trying to sound like a typical guy. This really meant a lot to me." He said quickly.

"I know Troy, but, just so you know, you could never sound like a typical guy." He smiled and leaned in to give Gabriella a kiss.

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Ok, so there it is. Also for you guys that are wondering, it is still about a year from the first chapter, remember the story is leading up to that. Keep reviewing! Thanks!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

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Troy looked at his watch, he and Gabriella were supposed to be going to a party and the Evans' house tonight and she was already an hour late calling him. That wasn't like her so it must have been something important. He decided to stop being patient and give her a call.

"Hello?" she said on the other line when she answered.

"Hey, it's me. So, I don't mean to nag, but what's the hold up?"

"What do you mean?"

"The party, the one we were supposed to attend about an hour ago?"

"Oh my god! I totally forgot, let me hurry and get ready."

"How long is that going to take?"

"I don't know I have to shower and get dressed."

"Uh huh, well ok just give me a call."

"Well there is no need for you to be late for my mistake, go ahead and I will meet you there."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive, it's ok really. I will be there."

"Ok well give me a call when you get there if you can't find me."

"Alright, see you soon."

"Bye." Troy said as he hung up the phone. He didn't like the idea of going by himself but it would be better if he left right then. Chad, Jason and Zeke were waiting for him to show. He grabbed his keys and headed out the door.

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"TROY!" he heard about ten people yell as he walked into the house. The party had already been underway for some time and everyone was already a little tipsy. He looked around and saw the team all in one group. He started to head over to them but was cut off by a very drunk Sharpay.

"Hellllllo Troy." She slurred.

"Hi Sharpay."

"Where's Gabriella?"

"On her way."

"Oh that's no good. If you were my boyfriend, I wouldn't let you out of my sight."

"But I'm not, so could you excuse me my friends are waiting."

"I will let you go if you promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"You will sing one song with me on karaoke." He sat there and thought about what she had just said; she was already pretty wasted, so he doubted that she would remember even asking him. He nodded and kind of shoved her aside and made his way over to his friends.

"Hey guys." He said as he sat down to join the group.

"Sup Troy." Said Zeke trying really hard to be cool or something. They all just sat there and then burst out laughing.

"Where's Gabby?" said Chad.

"Oh she is on her way. Are all the other girls here?"

"Yeah I think they are in the next room with Ryan and Shannon." Said Jason.

"Oh Troy we almost forgot, here." Chad said as he handed him a bowl full of keys.

"What's this?" Troy asked.

"It's the key bowl. Ryan and Sharpay said that if we are drinking here no one can drive home till tomorrow. So put your keys in." Replied Chad. Troy got his keys out and put them in the bowl. He looked in and saw Chad's, Zeke's, Jason, well pretty much the whole basketball teams keys were inside.

"So I guess we really are celebrating something. What is it?" said Troy as he put in his keys.

"Well, for one thing, we are going to be seniors this fall. That is enough reason to celebrate dude!" said Jason as he drank out of his cup. Troy smiled and got up to go to the kitchen to get something to drink. As he made his way through the crowd and to the kitchen he saw that it was empty, except for all the bottles of liquor that were lined up. He was about to grab a soda when someone came crashing through the door.

"Why, we meet again." Said Sharpay possibly a little more drunk then she was about ten minutes ago.

"I just saw you Sharpay."

"I know, I was just…..saying or something."

"Alright…..where are the sodas?"

"Sodas? Don't make me laugh. This is a jungle juice party; all there is to drink is jungle juice." She said as she made her way to the counter. She grabbed a cup from a big pile and then filled it up with whatever was in a huge bucket that was in the middle of the floor. Troy looked at it and wondered what exactly was in it.

"So what's in the jungle juice?"

"Just about any alcohol that you can imagine. One cup of this and you will be in heaven." She said as she handed over the cup to him. He took it and smelled the drink. Just smelling it made him gag.

"Um, maybe I should wait for Gabby to get here."

"Why would you go and do that? If she is ok with you coming alone, then I am sure she was aware that you would be drinking alone."

"She is meeting up with me. I am not staying here alone Sharpay."

"We'll see about that, come on drink up." She said pushing the cup up to his face. He was about to put it down when his teammates came in through the door.

"Yeah dude, Troy was just about to join the party!" Yelled Jason to all of the guys.

"No guys I-"

"Oh we get it, you were waiting for us! Come one lets show him how it's done!" Yelled Zeke. They all cheered and refilled their cups.

"Ok, on the count of three. ONE, TWO, THREE!" yelled Chad and then they all started chugging the juice. Troy didn't want to look stupid so he decided that one glass couldn't hurt. But then of course, one glass turned into two, and then three and then four…….

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Gabriella couldn't believe that she had forgotten about the party. She was just about done getting ready and was trying her hardest to hurry. It had been about an hour and a half since Troy called and she felt bad that she had left him alone for that long at Ryan and Sharpay's house. She ran downstairs with her stuff and went looking for her mom. She found her watching T.V. in the living room with Charley, the man she had been seeing. Gabriella liked him a lot and was hoping that everything would work out for them.

"Hey guys, I am going to a party at Ryan's. Don't wait up."

"Ok honey, do you have your cell phone?"

"Yeah."

"Well call me if you need anything ok? Remember if you need any help, me or Charley will come get you, no questions asked."

"I know, thanks you guys." She said as she went over to give her mom a hug. She gave Charley one too, it felt like he was already part of the family.

"Alright Gabby, oh yeah I forgot to ask, how would you like to go out for ice cream with me and your mother tomorrow?"

"Yeah that would be nice thanks for asking." Said Gabriella as she headed for the door.

"Ok see you guys tomorrow."

"Bye!" They both said as she walked out of the house. She was just getting in her car when she felt a strange feeling come over her. She sat there for a moment and waited for it to pass but it wouldn't. She shook it off as nothing but deep down inside she knew something was off.

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Troy tried to sit down as he felt like the world was spinning around underneath him. He had had way too much to drink and was now suffering the consequences. Chad was already passed out somewhere with Taylor by his side just in case he needed to go to the bathroom. Ryan and Shannon had chosen not to drink and had gone out to get some pizza. Meanwhile, everyone was just enjoying themselves having a good time. Just as the spinning was about to stop, he felt someone come up behind him and tackle him.

"You promised me a song Troy." Said Sharpay as she held onto him.

"You're right. Let's go." Troy had a great amount of trouble just getting those words out so he didn't know how he was going to manage singing a whole song. They went into the next room and he saw the Karaoke machine all set up and ready to go. They made their way to it and Sharpay decided she wanted to pick the song. Right as she as done and they were about to start, he dropped the microphone and said,

"I think I am going to be sick." If he didn't know any better he could've sworn that Sharpay smirked right after he said it.

"Oh gosh! Let's get you to a bathroom." She said quickly while she grabbed his hand. She led him upstairs to her room that had a bathroom connected to it. She shut the door behind them and led him to the bathroom.

"I will be right here if you need me." She said as she shut the bathroom door. She quickly straightened out her clothes and sprayed some perfume on her neck and wrists. The truth of the matter was, Sharpay hadn't had a drop to drink the whole night, and everyone seemed to have forgotten what a good actress she was. She looked around her room and made sure nothing was out of place. She sat down and returned to her "drunken state" when she heard the water stop running from the bathroom. Troy emerged looking a little less pale and had splashed some water on his face.

"Feeling better?" Said Sharpay in the fakest voice possible.

"Yeah I just need to lie down for a second." He said as he stumbled over to the bed. She got up and helped him lie down and the sat down right next to him.

"So Troy, you excited for the new year?"

"Yeah, sure." He said with his eyes closed. She sat there for a moment trying to think of things to say to him when he suddenly sat up.

"Gabby, is she here yet?"

"No. I don't think she is coming Troy."

"Yes she is, she said she would call me." Troy felt his pockets to see if his cell phone was in one of them. He panicked a little when he realized that he had left it on the couch downstairs. He started to get up to go downstairs when Sharpay grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back down on the bed.

"I'm sure she will find you if she comes. Now lay down, you are in no condition to be walking around." He was too dizzy to try and fight back so he just lay down on the bed and closed his eyes.

Sharpay decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to go ahead with her plan and scooted a little closer to him.

"Troy, you know I am crazy about you." She half whispered to a semi conscious Troy.

"What?" he said groggily.

"You are too good for Gabriella, don't you remember the awesome summer we had right after freshman year?"

"Summer?"

"Yeah silly!" she giggled trying her best to sound sexy. The truth was they had never really hung out, she was just making stuff up to keep the conversation going, she knew that later on he wouldn't be able to remember all of the details. She decided that talking wasn't going to get her anywhere so she just went in and kissed him. He let her do it for a moment and did kiss her back when he suddenly pulled away and sat up.

"What's going on? You're not Gabriella."

"You're right I'm not, but I can make you forget all about her." She said as she slipped an arm around his waist. She began kissing his neck for a little while and he started to give in a little bit when he tried to pull away again.

"Sharpay, what are you doing? I can't do this to Gabby."

"Shhhhh Troy just lay back, let me handle this." She said while she pushed him down roughly. He was hit with a sudden wave of dizziness and decided not to even bother trying to move anymore, it just wasn't working. She climbed on top of him and took her shirt off. He opened his eyes and saw what was going on but still didn't move. Sharpay wasn't an ugly girl, but he did have a girlfriend, a wonderful amazing girlfriend. Why couldn't he stop? She leaned in to kiss him once again and he responded. She took his shirt off and started to undo his pants and for some reason he let her. Just as things were staring to heat up he heard someone turn the door knob. He tried to look over but Sharpay was blocking the way.

"Oh Troy your hands feel so good." Sharpay moaned. She looked over at the door way and said,

"Oh hi. Will you shut the door? We are kind of busy." He heard the door slam and put his head back down. He tried to get Sharpay off of him but he was just too drunk.

"Its ok Troy, I'm here." Sharpay whispered as she finished taking off his pants.

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Gabriella finally reached the party. She looked around the room and saw Kelsey and Zeke in a corner but she didn't recognize anyone else. She kept searching and decided to go to the kitchen to see if she could find Troy. She walked in and was greeted by Ryan and Shannon.

"Hey Gabs you made it!" Ryan said as he came up and hugged her.

"Hey Ry, hey Shannon, nice to see you again!" Gabriella said as she hugged him back.

"Nice to see you too Gabby, would you like anything to drink?"

"Um could I just have a soda?"

"Oh yeah no problem." Said Shannon as she walked over to the fridge.

"So have you seen Troy?" asked Gabriella as she took the soda from Shannon.

"The last time I saw him was when we left and that was like an hour ago." Said Ryan.

"That's odd. I am going to go walk around and see if I can find him." Ryan and Shannon nodded and went back to eating their pizza. Gabriella walked out into the sitting area and decided to call his cell phone. While she was waiting for him to answer she heard a familiar ring come from the sofa.

She went over to it and found Troy's cell phone in between the pillows. So that meant that he was still there and probably drunk. There weren't any bathrooms downstairs so she decided to look upstairs to see if he needed anything. She searched the first two bathrooms up there and didn't find anyone so she decided to go look in the rooms but she didn't find anything there either.

The last room to look at was Sharpay's. She just remembered that she didn't see Sharpay downstairs so maybe she was helping Troy. She thought about it for a minute, and a feeling of doubt rushed over her. But then she shook it off. Sharpay wasn't very trustworthy but Troy wouldn't do anything to hurt her. She turned the doorknob and noticed that the light was on so she just walked in. she was horrified at what she saw when she did. Sharpay was on top of a shirtless Troy, and his pants were undone. Her shirt was off as well.

"Oh hi. Will you shut the door? We are kind of busy." She felt the tears well up and slammed the door behind her.

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Ok, so here is another chapter, thank you so much for the reviews you guys! They are so awesome. I like love all of you! I am glad you like it! And sorry this chapter was kind of long, well maybe that is good, but it was sad. But don't be mad at me!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

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Troy woke up with the hang over from hell. He looked around the room and sat up. It felt like someone had hit him with a huge truck. He was about to get up when he realized he wasn't wearing any clothes. He tried to pull a sheet off the bed to wrap it around him but felt it being held back by something he looked over on the bed and saw a big bundle of blonde hair.

He gasped as he realized what he had done and felt his stomach drop down to his feet. What was he doing in bed naked with Sharpay? He spotted his boxers at the end of the bed and reached over to them. He put them on and rushed into the bathroom.

"Get a grip man, maybe nothing happened." He said to himself in the mirror. He knew that that was very unlikely but his fears were confirmed when he looked at the trash in the bathroom and saw a used condom wrapper. He swore under his breath and sat down on the floor.

How could this have happened? He realized that he had to get out of there quickly before Sharpay woke up. He searched the room for his clothes and found them quickly. He didn't bother putting them on, he grabbed his shoes and opened the door. He looked behind him to see if he had woken her and sighed with relief to notice that he hadn't. He shut the door behind him and started to walk down the hall. He was almost safely out when he ran into Ryan.

"Oh hey Ryan."

"Hi." Ryan said wearily. He had noticed that Gabriella left the night before in a rush and now she wasn't accepting his calls. Suddenly it clicked. Troy was holding all of his clothes, and he had just walked out of Sharpay's room. A look of disgust came over Ryan's face as he just stood there and stared at Troy.

"Your keys and cell phone are in the bowl." He said pointing over to the table with the bowl on it.

"Thanks, did you happen to see Gabriella last night?"

"Yes I did."

"You did? Why didn't anyone come get me?"

"We didn't have to. She did."

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Gabriella woke up to her mom shaking her.

"Gabby honey, wake up. It's already two!"

"Is it?" Gabriella said groggily. Her eyes were sore and tired from all the crying she had done last night.

"Yes, honey are you ok?" Her mom asked her with a concerned look on her face.

"No, I'm not. But I don't want to talk about it Mom. Is it ok if I skip out on ice cream today?"

"Yes honey, do you need anything?"

"Actually, yes. Could you tell Charley to cut down the tree by my window, you know the one that leads to my balcony?"

"Are you sure? I thought you loved that tree."

"I thought I did too. But it needs to go; do you think he would do it?"

"I'm sure of it. I will ask him now. You know I am here if you need to talk."

"I know mom. Thank you. And tell Charley I owe him an ice cream cone."

"Ok honey. I will check on you later." Her mom said as she walked out of the room and shut the door. Gabriella got up and realized she had slept in her clothes. Her white pillow was blackened with mascara and eye shadow from the night before. Just thinking about it brought tears to her eyes.

How could he have done this? With Sharpay Evans nevertheless. Gabriella had never felt so betrayed in her entire life. And to think that she thought she loved him. 'Thank god I didn't tell him.' She thought to herself. But then again, you can't help how you feel. No matter what, she loved him with her whole heart. She couldn't help it.

She felt the tears coming down her cheeks and began sobbing again. She had trusted him. He had been her first everything. Why would he just throw that away? She tried to collect herself and realized how dirty she felt at that moment. She decided to go and take a shower to try and wash this pain away.

She walked into the bathroom and saw the towel Troy had used that day he came over in the rain. Her mom must have washed it and hung it up. Gabriella suddenly felt a surge of anger pulse through her and she grabbed the towel. She took it into her room and grabbed a pair of scissors that were on her desk.

She began shredding the towel into little pieces. It was surprisingly making her feel better. She collapsed from exhaustion and sat in the pieces of the towel. She stayed there in silence when suddenly she heard a chainsaw go off outside. She walked over to the door and saw Charley with goggles, gloves and a big chainsaw starting to cut down the tree.

She felt a wave of sadness hit her and tried to take her mind off of it. She had to take Troy Bolton out of her life.

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Troy drove home in a panicked craze. Gabriella had seen him, with Sharpay. How could he have been so stupid? He felt his eyes well up with hot tears. Troy never cried before, not even when he was injured. The more and more he thought about it the more helpless he felt.

He finally made it home to see that his parents weren't there. He ran inside and took the hottest shower he had ever taken. He wanted to wash off everything. He felt so dirty and so useless. How could he screw something so good up? Gabriella was the best thing that had ever happened to him and now she was gone.

He got out of the shower and looked at his phone. It said one missed call. It was from Gabriella at 12:30 last night. She had called him when she had gotten to the party just like she said she would have. Maybe she would answer his call. She wasn't a hateful person. Maybe she would let him explain. But anything he would say to her would just be an excuse. There was nothing he could do or say that could change what happened. He dialed her number and prayed that she would answer. It dialed and then the message came up,

"The number you have reached has been disconnected." He felt his heart grow heavy. She had changed her number. How could he expect anything else? She had feelings too. He didn't know what to do. He felt as if his whole world was crashing beneath him.

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Gabriella finished taking a shower and felt a little better. She had asked her mom to call the phone company and have her number changed immediately. She would call her friends later and give it to them, but right now she didn't want to take any chances. The last thing she wanted to do was get a call from Troy.

She sat down on her bed and looked around her room. And saw the red rose he had given her on their first date. She walked over to it and held it carefully in her hands. She had dried it so she could remember that night forever, now she wanted to forget that he even existed. She took the rose and smashed it in between her hands. She took the remainders of it and threw it in the trash. She sat on her bed once again and remembered what had gone on. She had given herself to Troy there.

She felt tears on the verge of coming again and suddenly began to rip the sheets off. When she was done she put them in a big black bag and told her mom to throw them away. She thought that she could handle it by herself but she realized she was on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

Shakily she reached for her phone and dialed a number.

"Taylor? Can you come over? I really need you right now."

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It literally took Taylor five minutes to come to Gabriella's home. The minute she came to her room Gabriella ran into her arms and broke down.

"There, there honey. Tell me what happened." Taylor whispered.

"T-troy. I saw him. With her." Taylor knew exactly who and what Gabriella was talking about. She sat her down on the floor and just held her while she wept. Taylor could only imagine what Gabriella was going through. The man she loved was in the arms of another woman. Actually Taylor wouldn't even consider Sharpay that, she was a monster. Taylor knew there wasn't anything she could say to help Gabriella except be there and let her let it all out.

"Thank you for coming Tay. I don't have anyone else."

"I am going to take that as a compliment, and what are friends for? To help you up when you fall. Honey I am here for you." Gabriella kept crying until there were no more tears. Taylor helped her clean up her face and looked around her room.

"What happened to your sheets?"

"Don't ask."

"Well then we are just going to have to get you new ones." Taylor said. She grabbed her purse and Gabriella's purse and took her hand.

"You just need some good shopping time."

"You hate shopping."

"I know, but you don't, and I am here to help you." Gabriella smiled and told her mom that they were going out for a bit. They walked outside and climbed into Taylor's car to go and get new sheets.

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Troy paced around in his room trying to figure out what he could do, but nothing was coming to mind. He had tried calling her house but no one answered. He had tried calling Taylor but she didn't answer. Kelsey said she hadn't heard from anyone since the night before. He was going insane.

He felt like he was about ready to jump out of a window when he finally decided to call Chad. He dialed the number and shortly Chad answered his phone.

"Hello?" he sounded like he had a good hangover himself.

"Hey it's Troy."

"Troy man what happened last night?"

"I don't know for sure Chad. But I think something really bad may have happened."

Troy began to explain the story to Chad.

"Oh man dude. Sharpay?"

"Yeah, Sharpay."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I mean I need to get a hold of her, but she changed her number. And I tried calling Tay but she hasn't answered her phone."

"I don't know what to tell you dude. But I can say that you really messed up."

"I know that Chad, I don't need to be reminded." Troy replied kind of angrily.

"Sorry man, but I'm not going to sugar coat it, you dug your grave, now you have to lie in it."

"I know Chad. What do I do?"

"Listen man, I can't help you out. Do you want me to come over? For like support or something?"

"No dude, I am going to go to her house. Keep trying to get a hold of Tay, if you hear something call me."

"Ok, if I don't call you first call me when you get home, or if you need anything."

"Thanks Chad." Troy said as he hung up. He walked out his door and prayed that Gabriella would be there.

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Troy finally reached Gabriella's house and was relieved to see her car there. He got out of his car and felt his heart pounding like a drum. He made his way to the back of the house to see if maybe she was out on the balcony, if she wasn't he was going to climb up there and knock on her window.

When he got there his heart dropped on the floor to see what had happened. Their tree was gone.

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Ok I know this Chapter was depressing, but it might be like that for awhile. Keep reviewing I love it!


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

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It had been about two weeks since the party. Gabriella had made no efforts to contact Troy. He would hear a few things hear and there from Chad, but other than that it was as if she had disappeared off the face of the earth. Troy wasn't himself anymore. He didn't want to play basketball, he never left the house. His friends would come visit but he would tell his dad to tell them he wasn't home. The only person he really talked to was Chad. And even then it was only to see what was going on with Gabriella. Sharpay had tried to call him a few times but there was no way he was going near that girl ever again.

He thought about changing his number but then he thought what if Gabriella called, she wouldn't be able to get a hold of him. His parents were so worried about him but there was nothing they could do. Troy was completely and utterly lost without her.

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Gabriella was sitting in her room waiting for Taylor to arrive. She had been over to Gabriella's house almost every day since the party, to support her. Gabriella just didn't feel like the same person anymore. She was so thankful that they were out of school for the summer because if they weren't she would have failed miserably, and she would have to face the two people who betrayed her.

It took every ounce of her being to not call or contact Troy. Every single day, that is all she wanted to do. Call him, have him come over. She just wanted to be held by him, to kiss him.

But then she would think about him and Sharpay all over each other. And it made her sick all over again. Just the thought of him even touching another girl made her want to vomit. She tried to shake the feeling.

She hadn't cried in awhile now, she was actually numb to the whole thing. She knew that probably wasn't the right way to deal with it but she had no choice. She couldn't loose control of her life over this. She heard a knock at her door and was surprised to see Kelsey and Jason.

"Um hey guys, this is unexpected." Gabriella said.

"We just wanted to come and see how you were." Said Kelsey.

"Yeah we wanted you to know that we are here for you." Said Jason right after. Gabriella smiled and motioned for them to come in.

"How have you guys been?" she said trying to make conversation.

"We have been good, just getting ready for the new school year and all. Are you trying out for the fall musical?" Asked Kelsey hopefully.

"I don't know Kels, after everything……"

"I understand if you don't, but I would hate to see Sharpay up on stage instead of you…" She started to say and then caught herself. Gabriella flinched at the name, but didn't seem to be too shaken by it.

"I'm so sorry-"

"Don't worry; I am going to have to hear that name sooner or later right?" Gabriella said forcing a smile. Kelsey and Jason nodded not really knowing what to say. But then Jason came out and said something that surprised even him.

"Troy is a wreck without you." Kelsey stared at him with wide eyes and Gabriella tried to find something to say.

"What?"

"He isn't the same guy anymore. He wont talk to anyone, he doesn't eat, sleep. His parents are really worried about him. We don't know what to do. And the only one who can fix that is you." They all sat in silence for a moment while Gabriella registered what Jason had just said.

"I can't change that Jason." She said quietly.

"Yes you can. Hear him out. Gabriella, I know he loves you, I am sure that if you just let him explain-"

"There is nothing to explain, what's done is done ok? Just drop it." She snapped. She felt bad and apologized soon after. They left her alone with her thoughts afterwards. As they were leaving Gabriella heard Kelsey slap his arm outside her door and started to lecture him. She couldn't help but smile. Kelsey was only trying to look out for her, just like Jason was doing for Troy.

She couldn't help but feel a little better to hear that Troy felt bad about things. A part of her thought that maybe Troy and Sharpay had had feelings for each other and that is why they didn't hold back at the party. She didn't know how she would've handled seeing them together at school.

She sighed and then thought about what Jason had said. Could Troy really be that bad? But what she said was true. She didn't think that she could ever be with him again, but maybe she could provide some closure, for the both of them.

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Ryan Evans was sitting in his room still boggled at what happened at the party. How could Sharpay be capable of something like that? He knew that she was devious and selfish, but he didn't think that she was capable of participating in the act of ruining someone.

But then again, he didn't know the whole story. Maybe it was more Troy than Sharpay. He thought about that for a second and knew at once that couldn't be it. Troy loved Gabriella with all his heart, but if that were true, why did he screw up? And not just a little screw up, this was major. He decided to try and talk to Sharpay. He walked over to her room and knocked on the door. He heard sniffling and the Sharpay said,

"I'm busy!"

"Sharpay, its Ryan, we need to talk." He heard her get up from her bed and open the door. He was surprised to see that she was a mess. He had never seen his sister cry, even less have one hair out of place.

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah, come in." she said as she walked back to her bed. He sat down next to her and then she started sobbing.

"Sharpay, what's wrong? Oh my god you're not pregnant are you?"

"No I'm not pregnant, you have to have sex to get pregnant don't you?" he was really confused by this last statement. Wasn't that the reason that Troy and Gabriella broke up? Because him and Sharpay had sex?

"Listen sis, you better explain this to me real quickly."

"What's there to explain, everyone hates me because they think I slept with Troy."

"I don't mean to be a jerk, but you did…….didn't you?" she started crying even harder when he said that.

"Ryan, I'm not going to lie to you. That is what I had in mind, and I made it seem like we did. But I don't know what I was thinking, I miss Zeke so much, and I thought that I could get back at him by- by…." She stopped and broke down again.

"Sharpay, you need to pull yourself together. What you did was really low, even for you. Did you even think about anyone but yourself? What about Gabriella?"

"I know, I don't know what I was thinking. I mean we kissed and I was going to go through with it, and then Gabriella came in and saw us…."

"How does he not know this didn't happen?"

"He was so drunk. But I made him kiss me, I did everything, he really didn't want to……" she said and started crying again.

"This doesn't add up. Wouldn't he know you guys didn't have sex. I mean what gave him that idea?"

"I undressed him, and then I put an empty condom wrapper in the bathroom knowing he would see it in the morning. I don't know what's wrong with me Ryan." Ryan couldn't help but feel bad for his sister. Everyone thought that the break up with Zeke didn't effect her, but he knew the truth, she was very much in love with him. But what she did was unforgivable, she had messed with two completely innocent people.

"Sharpay, I think you know what you have to do."

"I don't think I can do it. They all hate me."

"Can you blame them? You messed with these people, dragged them into something that they had nothing to do with. You need to fix this now. Get dressed."

"Where are we going?" she asked while he grabbed her by the arm and grabbing some clothes off the floor.

"Troy's."

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Troy was sitting at his house trying to eat a sandwich his mom had made him. He just didn't have it in him to even take a bite. He pushed it aside and got up to go to his room when he heard his doorbell. Every time it rang, he hoped that deep down Gabriella would be on the other side, waiting for him. But every time he opened it, he was disappointed.

He walked over to the door and looked through the peep hole. He could see two shadows. He unlocked the door and opened it to find Ryan and Sharpay Evans on his doorstep. He looked over at Ryan and then at Sharpay.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"We need to talk to you." Said Ryan stepping out in front of his sister.

"I have nothing to say to her. Except some very nice words that I don't think you would appreciate." Troy wasn't a violent guy. But right now he wanted nothing more then to punch the living daylights out of Sharpay.

"Troy I know you are mad, but I really think you should hear her out. I wouldn't have brought her here if I didn't have damn good reason and you know that. So, can we please come in?" Troy sat there for a moment not knowing what to say. He knew Ryan wasn't lying, but the last thing he wanted to do was be in the same room as Sharpay, not only because of sheer disgust, but because he was afraid of what he might do to her.

"You better make this quick." He said as he opened the door wider for them to come in. they followed him into the living room and they all sat down. Troy looked at Sharpay and couldn't help but notice how bad she looked. She looked like she hadn't showered in days. Her hair was pasted to her head, her clothes didn't match and were all wrinkled.

"Ok, go." Troy said.

"Troy, it's about the night at the party." Sharpay finally said shakily.

"What about it?" Troy replied grumpily.

"What happened between us, it didn't happen."

"What are you talking about?"

"It was all a lie. Nothing happened. I wanted to get back at Zeke, for dumping me. I wasn't thinking."

"But the condom wrapper and my-"

"I did that. All of it, I made it seem like something happened between us. Troy we kissed, but that was it I swear."

"Wait how do you know? You were drunk too."

"No I wasn't, I didn't even have a sip of alcohol. It was stupid of me to even think about. I am so sorry. I have never been so sorry about anything in my entire life." Troy sat back and let it all sink in. he didn't know whether to hug her or to throw something at her head.

"So, we didn't have sex?"

"We kissed, and I take full responsibility for that. You said no, I didn't care. I am so sorry."

"Sharpay, why didn't you say anything before?"

"I tried to call you. But I was scared. Ryan is the one who made me come here."

"Thank you for telling me the truth Sharpay." Troy said, he felt as if he was just handed the world again. All he wanted to do was go to Gabriella and tell her.

"I need to go. Thank you once again." He said as he got up. Then he turned around and gave Ryan a hug. He awkwardly shook Sharpay's hand and headed for the door once again but then turned around one last time.

"Sharpay, I may need you to talk to Gabriella. She is really hurt and I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't believe me." Sharpay nodded as tears ran down her face. Troy bolted out of his house and ran all the way to Gabby's.

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Taylor pulled into Gabriella's drive way and saw Kelsey and Jason driving down the street. It didn't surprise her; Kelsey had called Taylor earlier to see if it would be ok for her and Jason to visit Gabby that day. Taylor turned off her car and started to get out when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. It was someone in white sweats running towards her. She thought for a minute that it was Jason but she remembered he had just driven by. Then when they got closer she realized who it was.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she yelled across the lawn.

"I need to talk to Gabriella." Troy gasped, his lungs felt as if they were about to burst.

"I think you need a reality check. Your best option is to turn around and leave her alone."

"No, Tay she needs to hear me out. This was all a mistake-"

"Yes, it was a mistake. She never should have given you the time of day. She is too good for a piece of shit like you." Taylor responded before heading inside. It took a lot to get her mad, but when you mess with one of her friends, there was no stopping her.

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Gabriella heard yelling outside and ran to her front door to see what was going on. She had hoped it wasn't Jason and Kelsey fighting over what he had said, she was really ok. She went to the door and decided she could get a better view from the front window. When she pulled the curtain aside she saw Taylor's car but the person standing next to it wasn't Taylor.

She felt like she was going to throw up. It was Troy. He was in his basketball sweats. He looked winded, like he had run all the way over there, which was probably the case being that his car was no where in sight. She couldn't hear exactly what they were saying but she noticed Taylor said something; well more like screamed something and turned around to walk in. Troy didn't move. He stood there looking at the house. Gabriella knew he couldn't see her, but it felt like he was looking right at her.

"How long have you been there?" Taylor said as she walked in.

"Long enough, I heard yelling so I came down. What was that about?"

"He wanted to talk to you. I said no. Simple as that."

"Oh. Did he seem ok?"

"Yeah fine-wait, why do you care?"

"Jason just mentioned something, I was just wondering."

"Well stop wondering, he is a waste of time." Taylor said aggravated.

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	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

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Troy couldn't believe how Taylor spoke to him when he went to Gabriella's. He had never seen her so upset about anything. It bothered him of course but he really couldn't blame her. At the same time he just wished that someone would listen to him. He hadn't told Chad yet, because he knew that if he did Chad would tell Taylor and Taylor would tell Gabriella. He wanted to be the one to tell Gabby.

He tried calling Gabriella's house again later that day, but her mom answered and said Gabriella couldn't come to the phone. He decided to call the only person that he could think of. Not because he wanted to talk to them, but because they were the only person that knew the truth besides Troy.

"Hello?" answered Sharpay.

"Sharpay, it's me Troy."

"Hi, did you talk to Gabby?"

"She won't return my phone calls. I tried to go over there but Taylor wouldn't let me see her."

"Oh wow. She has really good friends." Sharpay said sarcastically.

"Shut up, they are just trying to protect her. You know watch out for her. Not letting her get hurt. All of those are things you wouldn't know about." Sharpay sat silently on the other end.

"I thought you had forgiven me." She said softly.

"Sharpay, I appreciate you telling me the truth, but you have to know that what you did, well it's pretty unforgivable right now."

"I understand. Why did you call then?"

"I think I might need your help."

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Ryan decided that it might be time to visit Gabriella. He knew that she didn't know the truth yet because Troy had been calling Sharpay. He got in his car and started driving to Gabriella's. It wasn't a long drive; she only lived about two streets down from him. Once he got there he saw Gabriella sitting on her front porch which was weird because she never did that. She caught sight of him and began to wave. 'At least she's not mad at me', he thought to himself. He got out of the car and started walking towards her.

"Hey Gabs, I just thought I would stop by and say hello….."

"Hi Ryan. Do you want to come in?"

"Oh, I'm not staying long. But I do need to talk to you real quick. Can you spare a sec?" he said trying not to sound too nervous. He wasn't going to tell her exactly what happened, but he was going to try and convince her that maybe Troy wasn't such a bad guy.

"Um, sure. I guess we could sit in the grass." Gabriella said while she sat down.

"Listen Gabriella, I know these are the last two people that you want to talk about, but you need to hear me out." Right after he said that, he noticed immediately how uncomfortable she got.

"Ry, I don't know if that is such a-"

"No, just please. I really need to say this to you. You know I wouldn't do anything to hurt you Gabs, just give me a chance?"

"Ok" she replied reluctantly.

"I'm not here to protect my sister, or to stand up for Troy. But what I did come to tell you is that maybe you should hear him out; give him a chance to explain things to you."

"Why would I do that?"

"I know you Gabby, you aren't resentful, and you listen to reason. Why should that not be the case now?"

"I don't need reason to know what I saw Ryan. I know you are just trying to help the situation, and thank you. But I am going to have to ask you to stop. No one forced him to do anything. So please, just let me deal."

"Ok sweetie, but please take some of what I said into consideration." He said before getting up to walk to his car. She tried to smile and wave at him, but that failed. Instead she just lay back on the grass and looked at the clouds. She heard him get in his car and drive away. Why would he come here just to tell her that? Maybe he was just standing up for Sharpay. She was swimming alone in her thoughts when she heard another car pull up in front of her house. She thought it was her mom when she heard someone call her voice.

"Gabriella?" she shot up and said,

"Troy?"

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Before Troy had called Sharpay he had decided that he had had enough. He had to see Gabriella. He had asked Sharpay to come with him to Gabriella's house and try to explain things to her. Maybe she would listen to the person that was to blame for this whole mess.

He picked up Sharpay and headed over to Gabriella's house.

"Thank you for coming." He said as she got into his car.

"I guess it's the least I could do. Do you think she will listen to us?"

"I hope so. I don't know what I would do if she doesn't."

"Why didn't you just call her?"

"I have tried. She just isn't taking my calls."

"Oh, well I hope she doesn't like punch me in the face or something."

"Gabby wouldn't do that." He said. Of course that was a lie. He didn't know how Gabby would react to seeing Sharpay, especially with him. But he didn't want to take any chances of Sharpay backing out. They finally got to Gabriella's house and he saw that she was laying down in her front yard. Just seeing her made his heart skip a beat. He didn't know how she would react. All he wanted to do was run up to her and hold her. He got out of his car and said her name. She must have recognized his voice because she sat straight up and said his name before even looking at him. This was it.

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Gabriella didn't know whether to jump up and hug him or to turn around and go inside.

"What are you doing here?" she said softly.

"I need to talk to you." He replied as he started to walk towards her.

"I don't think that is a good idea Troy."

"Gabriella, please just let me talk to you. You don't even have to say anything. Just listen."

"Troy, we don't have anything to talk about. Please, don't make this harder."

"I wouldn't come over here to hurt you any more than I already have. I just need to explain." Gabriella started to feel the tears coming on. It was the first time she had cried in days. She didn't want him to see how much pain she was really in. She was about to go inside when she heard another car door close. She looked at Troy's car and saw Sharpay step out of it.

"What is she doing here?" she said shakily. Every feeling she had felt of sadness just turned into rage. Gabriella couldn't remember ever being that angry.

"She needs to explain some things too." Troy said.

"You both need to leave." Gabriella said feeling more and more angry by the second.

"Not until things are set straight." Sharpay said from the car. She began to walk over to them but Gabriella stopped her.

"You are making a big mistake Sharpay." Gabriella said warningly. Sharpay looked at Troy as if to ask for help and began walking towards her anyways.

"Gabby please, just listen to us." Gabriella had had enough of Sharpay being there, so she began to walk over to her not seeing anything but red. As soon as she got close enough she lunged at Sharpay tackling her to the ground. She began to punch, not slap Sharpay in the face.

"I told you to leave!" Gabriella said as she kept hitting her. Troy sat there in amazement watching Gabriella beat the living daylights out of Sharpay. When he finally snapped out of it he ran over to the girls and tried to pull Gabriella off of her. Sharpay was screaming bloody murder as Gabriella just wouldn't let go. Before Troy could get her off he noticed that Gabriella's hand was tangled up in Sharpay's hair. Sharpay started screaming even louder when Gabriella was finally pulled off taking a huge chunk of hair with her.

"Let go of me!" Gabriella yelled as Troy held her back. This wasn't like Gabby at all. She had never even hurt a fly. But then again, a fly wasn't a tramp that had slept with her boyfriend.

"No please! Don't let her go!" Sharpay yelled as she started to get up off the ground. When she got up Troy got a good look at the full extent of her injuries. Her right eye was swollen shut, her nose was pouring blood, she had huge scratches and marks on her face and of course, there was a big bald spot were Gabriella had taken out her hair. Sharpay jumped quickly into the car and locked the doors. She didn't want to risk getting any more injuries.

"Gabriella calm down." Troy said trying still to keep her back.

"Don't tell me what to do Troy. You should've known better than to bring her here."

"I know Gabby but let me explain."

"No, let me explain. We are done Troy; I want nothing to do with you. Leave me alone, forget I even exist. I'll do the same." She shook him off and started to walk to her door.

"Gabriella wait, please. I know that if you let me explain, we can work this out."

"Let you explain? What do you think I am? I'm not stupid Troy, I saw you. No one told me anything. I think you have explained enough." She turned around and made it to her door. She slammed it shut and collapsed. She began sobbing and couldn't stop. She had just told the man she loved that she basically hated him.

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Troy walked back to his car. He didn't even know what had just happened. He looked at Sharpay who was crying hysterically and then motioned for her to unlock the doors. He got in and she immediately began screaming.

"YOU SAID SHE WOULDN'T DO THAT TROY!"

"How was I supposed to know Sharpay?"

"SHE WAS YOUR GIRLFRIEND!"

"Nothing like this has ever happened before! You need to calm down!"

"I CAN'T CALM DOWN! DID YOU EVEN LOOK AT ME?" she began hyperventilating and Troy contemplated taking her to the hospital.

"Do you need a doctor?"

"NO JUST GET ME HOME!" he drove as fast as he could to Sharpay's house and got her there in no time. She ran out of the car and hurried inside. He knew she would be fine; it wasn't anything an ice pack couldn't take care of.

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Here is chapter 10; I thought Gabriella should stand up for herself in this one. And oh sorry for the misspelling of Kelsi's name. I did spell it Kelsey, not Kelsi. So I will try to remember. Thanks again for all the reviews, I love hearing that you guys like the story!


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

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Troy began driving himself home and realized that that little visit had done absolutely nothing. Gabriella still wanted nothing to do with him, she still didn't know the truth, and Sharpay was well, actually maybe something had turned out right. He smiled to himself when he thought of Gabriella pouncing on Sharpay like that. He knew it was wrong to think that it was ok for her to do that, but he couldn't help but feel that Sharpay deserved every punch.

He started to rack his brain on what he could do to get Gabriella to hear him out. He had thought about maybe sending her an e mail, but she just wouldn't even open it. Maybe he could do something to get her attention. But what? He sat there for a minute at a stop sign and was suddenly struck with an idea. He quickly made a U turn and headed in the opposite direction.

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Gabriella ran up to her room and slammed her door. The nerve of him bringing Sharpay to her house. What did he want? Her blessing for their relationship? She knew she was hasty of her to jump on Sharpay like that, but she didn't know what had come over her. She couldn't help smile when she thought of the look on Sharpay's face when she saw Gabriella holding that big handful of hair. She looked down at her hand and noticed that it was all red and swollen. She hadn't realized how hard she had actually hit Sharpay. She started to flex it and decided to go get some ice to bring the swelling down.

Once she had taken care of that, she went back upstairs and grabbed a book from her numerous collection. Reading really helped calm her nerves so she thought that it might be a good idea to do that. She took a little folding chair she had in her closet and took it out to her balcony. Without the shade from the big tree right in the middle, she had to sit in the corner of one side so she wouldn't be sitting in the sun.

She made herself comfortable and began reading. It was really hard to concentrate because of the pounding pain she had in her hand. She tried to keep her mind off of it when she heard her phone start to ring. She had left it inside so she had to go in there and grab it. When she saw who was calling her heart dropped. It was Ryan.

"Hello?" she said kind of scared.

"Gabs?"

"Yeah?" she was a little relieved to hear him call her that, it probably meant that he wasn't holding any grudges for what she had done to his sister.

"So, you did that to Sharpay?"

"How'd you guess?"

"Well, being that you are the only Gabriella I know, I would have to say that it was a toss up between you or a stray, very angry cat."

"A cat?"

"Did you take a look at your handy work?"

"Not really…."

"Well, let's just say you left a few marks."

"I'm going to guess you are being sarcastic."

"How'd you know?"

"Are you mad?"

"I'm not mad, but at the same time I'm not going to side with you. What you did was very wrong." He said in a motherly voice. Right then she knew he understood, even though it was his sister.

"I really don't know what came over me."

"So, is it wrong of me to assume that you didn't talk to Troy?"

"Not at all."

"Gabby….."

"Can you blame me?"

"Well no, but I am still sticking to what I said earlier, oh wait hold on." She heard Ryan put the phone down shouting something back to someone. It was silent for a second and then he got back on the phone.

"Listen, I have "things" I need to attend to. Think about what I said?"

"Alright."

"Ok I will call you later when things calm down."

"Bye Ry."

"Bye." She hung up the phone and sat at her desk for a moment. She felt bad for Ryan, only because now he was in charge of taking care of Sharpay. But, she still wouldn't take back what she did for the world. She looked at the time and remembered that she hadn't eaten all day. She went downstairs to try and fins something but when she thought about it, she just wasn't very hungry. She went back upstairs with a glass of water and an apple that she would try and eat later. That was the only thing she thought that she might be able to eat and not want to throw up.

She closed the door behind her and remembered that she had last her chair and her book on the balcony. She put the water and apple down then headed out to grab her things. She was just about to fold up the chair when she heard a noise from below. She let the chair go, softly and peeked over the railing.

It was Troy, with a small tree. She couldn't help but smile. She watched him without saying anything. He hadn't seen her at all so he didn't know she was watching. He had just gotten there because he hadn't even started to dig yet. He had a small tree, the ones that are in plastic containers. He also had a shovel and a jug full of water.

She couldn't help but stare at him. Earlier that day she was so mad about Sharpay, she hadn't really looked at Troy. He looked different, almost like he was just completely exhausted. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, or eaten for that matter. Right then she couldn't help but think of what everyone had been telling her, well everyone except for Taylor.

Why would they all be pushing for her to hear him out? They all knew that he had cheated on her. But then again, maybe she did need to hear him out. She felt the wall that she had put up around her heart begin to crumble, he was actually planting a new tree. For her. For them.

She sat there for a few moments longer before deciding to say anything. Just as she was about to, she felt herself let go of the booking her hands. She stepped back and heard it land with a loud thump. She was pretty sure it hadn't hit him so for that she was relieved.

"Hello? Gabriella?" she heard him call up. She stood there for a minute and then decided she couldn't just sit there forever.

"Yes, it's me. What are you doing?"

"I'm planting a tree."

"I know that, why are you planting a tree?"

"Because you knocked the first one down."

"You do know that it will take years for that tree to even come close to the balcony right?"

"I'm willing to wait." She couldn't think of a response to the last statement. Why couldn't he just leave her alone?

"Troy what do you want?"

"Two minutes. Please, that's all I need." She sat there for a moment. Maybe she should just hear him out. She had decided a while ago that closure might be the only thing she could do for the both of them.

"If I ask you to leave, can you promise me that you will?"

"Yes, if you hear me out and you still want me gone, I am gone. And you will never hear from me ever again. But please, just let me in." she nodded slightly and pointed for him to go to the front. He dropped the shovel and ran to the front yard. When she got downstairs he was already waiting for her. She opened the door and stood in the doorway.

"Thank you Gabby, I just need to explain things to you." She couldn't help but start to feel all emotional again. Just being so close to him was almost too much for her.

"Ok Troy, just do it then." She hated being so mean, but she couldn't help it. He had already broken her heart; she didn't want to give him the chance to do it again. She could see that he flinched when she said that, but he wasn't about to back down.

"Alright, I am just going to come out and say this, nothing happened with Sharpay."

"What are you trying to take me for here Troy?"

"No Gabriella, I'm not lying. I know you have no reason to believe me, but I am asking you, no begging you to believe me. That is why I brought her over here. She wanted to straighten things out too."

"But you were on the bed-"

"It was all a set up. She wanted to get back at Zeke for breaking up with her. She thought that if she could get me drunk enough I would sleep with her, but nothing happened. I mean, I'm not going to lie, we kissed. But it wasn't me, it was all her."

"Oh yeah Troy I am so sure, she just held you down and forced you to kiss her." Gabriella felt tears coming on. She hated that he had this effect on her. She looked down at the floor and tried to regain composure.

"Gabriella, I know it looks bad, but if I had done anything more with her I wouldn't be here right now. I would have left you alone because I would know that there was no way to get you to forgive me, and I wouldn't blame you. But the truth is that I know we can get past this because nothing happened. I need you to believe me here."

"Troy I can't-"

"No Gabby, please. Yes you can. I love you Gabriella, I love you so much." She caught her breath as soon as he said that.

"What?"

"I said I love you. Look at me and tell me you don't see that." She heard him start to struggle with his words. She looked up into his eyes and noticed that they were tearing up as well. She couldn't hold it in anymore; she began to let her tears flow freely. He reached his hand up to her face and began wiping her tears.

"Please don't cry Gabby, it kills me to see you cry." He said putting his forehead to hers. She closed her eyes and suddenly heard him sob softly. She opened them and found him crying as well.

"Why are you crying?" she whispered.

"These last few weeks have been hell. I don't know how I even functioned before you Gabriella, I never really felt alive till I met you. I need you to be ok. When I lost you I-"

"You never lost me Troy." She said slowly. She let him cup her face in his hands and he began kissing her face.

"Don't leave me Gabby." He said in between kisses. She pulled him into a hug and held onto him tightly.

"I won't ever leave you. Why would I leave someone I love so much?" he pulled away from their hug and gave her the biggest smile she has ever seen. He then began to kiss her as if it was the last kiss they would ever share.

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Thanks for the reviews, please don't stop! They are really awesome you guys thanks!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

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**"**YOU DID WHAT?"Gabriella pulled the phone away from her ear while Taylor just kept yelling.

"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? HE CHEATED ON YOU W-W-WITH THAT SLUT!"

"Taylor, you need to listen to the story, I mean it was all a set up. Sharpay wanted to make it look like something that it wasn't."

"Yeah, that is what he wants you to think." Taylor said in a lower tone.

"Tay, you know I wouldn't believe it if it wasn't true. He even brought her to my house to explain the whole thing."

"He brought Sharpay, to your house. And you were ok with it?" Gabriella sat there for a second to think of a delicate way to put it. But, she couldn't so she just said it.

"No, I wasn't ok with it; I beat her to a pulp."

"Whoa, you beat Sharpay up?"

"Um, kind of….."

"That's my girl." Said Taylor proudly. Gabriella just smiled. She knew Taylor wouldn't mind her doing that to Sharpay, in fact, she was probably disappointed that it wasn't her throwing the punches.

"So, can you get over this whole and at least try to be civil to Troy?"

"I guess I can arrange that, but I swear to god if he pulls anything like this again, I'm kicking his ass."

"Ok Tay." Gabriella said laughing.

"Why are you laughing? I was being serious." Taylor said. Gabriella giggled nervously and then told Taylor that she would call her later. She hung up the phone and walked over to her balcony. Troy was just finishing up planting the tree.

After they had made up he had insisted on finishing the job. She took that opportunity to call Taylor to tell her everything that had happened. She looked down at him and saw that he was sweaty and probably thirsty, so she went downstairs and made some lemonade and decided to join him outside.

"Look at you working hard; I thought I would bring you some lemonade." She said while she carried a tray with two glasses and the pitcher.

"Oh wow, thanks Gabriella. That is really going to hit the spot." He put the shovel down and took a seat on the ground. She set the tray down and sat down next to him. She poured the lemonade into the two glasses and handed one to Troy.

"So, are you almost finished up here?"

"Almost, I'm just putting all the dirt back into place so your mom won't kill me." Gabriella smiled and looked up into the trees. She noticed that the leaves were already changing colors. The summer had gone by so quickly, she hadn't even realized that it was almost going to be fall.

"What are you thinking about?" Troy said leaning closer to her.

"Oh nothing. Just random things. You?" he didn't say anything and leaned in to kiss her. He pulled away and she didn't open her eyes. She had missed him so much, she felt like she had to remember every second they had together.

"I was just thinking about how good it feels to do that." She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"How good it feels to do what?"

"Just to kiss you." She smiled and leaned in to kiss him again.

"I was just thinking the same thing." She whispered softly. She put her glass down and lay back on the grass. The last few days all seemed like a blur. Kind of like they had never happened. Just being there next to Troy at that moment, that made everything alright. She looked over at him, he was drinking his lemonade. She noticed just how much being with him meant to her.

She felt so comfortable with him. Like she didn't need to be with anyone else. Or like she could just be herself. Even at the ski lodge, there was just this instant connection, it had to be fate that she had ended up at his school, even that she was there with him, sipping lemonade in her backyard.

She watched him just staring at the tree he had just planted. She felt so horrible for treating him the way she did. He didn't deserve that, especially after everything he had done for her. She started to feel really emotional as tears started to fill her eyes. Troy looked over and saw her looking down.

"Gabriella? Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just wanted you to know, that I am sorry. It was just all so sudden, and I saw you…."

"Hey, look at me. You have nothing to be sorry about ok? I am just happy that you gave me another chance. It's been really hard these past few days. I don't even want to think about what would've happened if you hadn't given me the time of day."

"That's not going to happen Troy. I just needed some time."

"I understand. I just love you so much."

"And I love you so much……it almost hurts." She whispered. He put his drink down and leaned over to kiss her.

"I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to you Gabby."

"Nothing is going to happen to me."

"I don't know that, you don't either. I just don't know how I would live. Just knowing what I had with you and not being able to ever have that back…."

"You are being a downer…." She said and smiled. He smiled back at her and put his arm around her.

"Just promise me that whatever happens, you won't forget me." He said to her. She could tell that he was being really serious and it worried her. Troy usually looked at the positive side of things, why all of a sudden all this?

"I promise. I could never forget you." She closed her eyes and buried the face into his chest. There was nothing in this entire world that would ever forget Troy, he was her heart.

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After Troy had left, Gabriella hurried up and showered and started to get ready. They had agreed that they would go out and get some dinner and spend the night together.

She just couldn't stop smiling. Today was one of the best days she had had in a long time. She was just so happy everything had worked out. And not in the way she had thought they would, she had thought that they would talk to get closure from the relationship. Not that he would come and they would get back together. She started thinking about the day and then realized what had happened.

"Oh my god, I forgot about Sharpay….." she said to herself. Of course, she was still a little upset about what she had done, but Ryan was right. She wasn't a resentful person. She picked up her phone and began to dial Sharpay's number and then remembered that she probably wouldn't answer after what had happened. So then she decided to call Ryan.

"Hay Gabby." He said kind f grumpily when he answered.

"Um, hey. Are you ok?"

"Yeah I am great. Sharpay on the other hand…."

"Oh right….again I am so sorry."

"It's ok. So what did you need?"

"Actually I was going to come over and talk to Sharpay…"

"Why?"

"I talked to Troy."

"Oh you did? How was it…..did you listen…"

"Yeah, everything is fine. We worked things out. That is why I want to talk to Sharpay. I think I owe her an apology."

"Well I think you should apologize only if she does first."

"Ok…do you think I could swing by?"

"Yeah I think so….but I won't tell her. She might have a heart attack. Do you mind if I am there when you talk to her? I don't want her to like have a stroke or anything."

"Yeah its fine. I will be over in a sec."

"Ok see you soon." And with that Gabriella was out the door.

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Gabriella pulled up at the Evans' house soon after talking to Ryan. She saw him at the window and motioned for her to wait outside. She nodded and turned her car off. As soon as she stepped outside she saw the front door open. Ryan came out first closely followed by Sharpay. Gabriella took one look at her and quickly raised her hand to her mouth.

Her face was swollen and covered in scratches. She had already started to bruise but, not too much at the moment. Her hair was pulled back in a pony tail but you could still tell there was a huge chunk missing from the top of her head. Her nose still had some dried blood caked on it, probably because it was still too painful to wash off. Just looking at her made Gabriella wince.

"Hey Sharpay…" she said wearily.

"Hi." Sharpay said shortly. Gabriella could feel the tension between them and really didn't know where to start.

"I just came by to talk to you, do you have a minute?"

"Yeah, I guess." If it were another situation, Gabriella would have thought that Sharpay was being rude.

"So, I am sorry about the way I treated you earlier."

"Yeah."

"Yes, I am….." Gabriella waited for her to respond but got nothing.

"Ok I guess we are all done here." Gabriella said and turned for her car.

"No, wait, I think Sharpay needs to say something to you now. Sharpay? Ryan said pushing his sister in front of him.

"Gabriella, I'm sorry." Sharpay said slowly. Ryan elbowed her and then smiled at Gabriella.

"I'm sure there is more to it. Right sis?"

"Ok….GabriellaIamsorrythatImadeyouthinkthatTroycheatedonyouwithme." she said all at once. Sharpay then looked down and began to clear her throat. Gabriella knew this had to be hard for Sharpay; she had probably never apologized for one thing in her entire life.

"Well then, I am guessing that is all? I will be on my way." Gabriella said. She just didn't want to make this any more painful than it already was. She was about to open her door when she was surprised by Sharpay sobbing.

"Wait, Gabby. I really am sorry. I already told Troy, and I did need to tell you. I am sorry you had to be dragged into this. I am sorry I made you feel so horrible. I am sorry that I was so selfish. And most of all, I am sorry that I made you doubt the person who loves you more than anything."

"I accept your apology." Gabriella said softly. She then went up to Sharpay and gave her a hug. Sharpay clung to her tightly and Gabriella let her cry on her shoulder. After Sharpay was done Gabriella looked at her and smiled. Everything would be ok.

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Ok so now you think everything is good right? Well there are only a few Chapters left…..so keep in mind that they did crash in the beginning…….that is all I will say……Keep reviewing you guys! It really means a lot to me and you are all so awesome! Thanks!


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Authors note! Just so there is no confusion, this chapter skips forward to before the first chapter which happened a year before the second chapter…..make sense? Hope so! Enjoy!**

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Troy couldn't believe that it had only been a year since he and Gabriella had become "official". It was really amazing for him to go back and think about what had happened in that last year. Of course, Chad and Taylor were still together, Zeke and Sharpay had actually gotten back together. After the whole incident with Troy, she had become a different person. Zeke had broken up with her because she was so cold at times. He couldn't stand it. But she really had changed for the better and now they couldn't be happier.

Kelsi and Jason were also well; she had even taught him how to play a little piano. Ryan and Shannon were good as well, they were actually making plans for a trip together before heading off to school in the fall. Gabriella's mom was engaged to be married to Charley in a year and they were all excited for that. Troy and Gabriella of course were perfect. Things couldn't be going any better for the group of friends.

Troy smiled to himself and was suddenly interrupted by Chad's loud chewing. They were waiting for Gabriella and Taylor at a local restaurant. Chad of course had already eaten about half the chips that were provided in the chip bowl.

"Chad, do you think you could chew any louder?" Troy asked him.

"I don't know man, you tell me." He said and grabbed another handful of chips to shove in his mouth. Troy sighed and sat back in his chair. He couldn't help but feel like things couldn't stay perfect forever. He tried to shake it off and try to talk to Chad about something that he had been thinking about.

"Chad, I need to talk to you about something."

"Mffhhh?" he didn't really know how to lead up to it so he just said it.

"I think I am going to ask Gabby to marry me."

"Mmmmfhh………What?" Chad finally said after spitting his chips out. He began to cough and Troy handed him a glass of water.

"You ok?" Chad finally got the ships down and cleared his throat.

"Yeah, I am fine….did you just say what I think you just said?"

"The part about marrying Gabby?"

"Yes that part. Dude, you are 18."

"I don't mean get married now. I mean after we graduate, I want to propose."

"Wait, you want to propose now and then get married after you graduate?"

"You got it." Chad took a deep breath and pushed the chip bowl aside.

"Are you being serious?"

"I have never been more serious in my entire life. I love this girl."

"You can love her without marrying her. I mean, you guys are still young."

"There isn't anyone else I want to be with. Are you telling me you are with Tay because you can be? Because you are just waiting for the one?"

"No dude, I mean I know that we are young and things can happen."

"Chad look me in the eye and say that again." Chad looked at Troy and then broke out into a huge smile.

"I could never say that and mean it. I am crazy about her."

"That is what I thought."

"I am just giving you crap, I think we all were just waiting for this to happen." Chad said patting Troy on the back. That was his way of giving them his blessing. Troy smiled and thought of how he wanted to do it.

"So, how are you going to do it?"

"Actually Chad that is what I was just thinking."

"Are you going to go all out like you did on your first date?"

"I don't know. I know I want it to be special, but I think that I am just going to play it out. You know, just when it feels right."

"Hmmm, good, that way I won't get any crap from Taylor because I didn't out do you."

"Are you saying that you are going to propose to Taylor…?" Troy asked with a smile.

"I'm just saying that if it does happen, I won't have to live up to anything."

"If it happens? Don't you mean when?"

"Yes, I mean when it happens." Chad said with a broad smile. They both sat there chatting a bit more when they saw the girls coming up to the door.

"Alright Chad, not a word of this to Tay, got it?"

"Yeah dude, your secrets safe with me." Chad said while crossing his heart. He quickly put his hand down when Gabriella and Taylor sat down at the table. Gabriella leaned over and gave Troy a big kiss while Taylor did the same to Chad.

"So, what were you boys talking about?" Taylor asked.

"We were talking about graduation, isn't it going to be great?" Troy responded quickly. The girls exchanged looks and then laughed. They all began talking about graduation and their plans for after. Then they all enjoyed their dinner with each other.

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Troy couldn't believe he had asked her so soon. It was just the day before that he had talked to Chad, but that morning, when she was laying in bed with him, everything felt right. And when she said yes, he felt like his heart would explode. It was just like the first time she had told him she loved him, it was perfect.

They were now on their way back to school. Troy could see her looking at his class ring over and over again. He knew it wasn't much, but it still had a lot of meaning to him. And he knew that she knew that.

"Gabriella Bolton, I think I like the sound of that." She said holding her hand out in front of her. He smiled and looked ahead again. The streets were unusually busy for this time of day so he had to keep an eye on the road.

"Troy, this is all so perfect. I can't wait to tell my mom and all of our friends." Gabby said as Troy turned his head and looked at her.

"I love you so much Gabby."

"I love you too Troy." She said as they crashed head on into the truck that had lost control less than a block away.

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Troy woke up suddenly not knowing where he was. He was suddenly hit with a sharp pain coming from his right leg and right above his right eye. He couldn't move his legs because they were pinned under the dash. He raised his hand to his forehead and felt warm liquid. He brought his hand back down to look at it and saw that it was covered in blood.

He suddenly remembered what had happened and panicked. He tried to get out again but failed. Then he remembered that he was also with Gabriella. He looked to his right and saw that the seat was empty. He looked forward at the windshield and saw that it was shattered.

"Oh god no…" he said under his breath. He tried to move his legs with no luck once again. He removed his seatbelt and tried again. His mind was racing for ways that he could get out and he suddenly remembered that the seat was moved up, so he could try and move it back to see if that would give him any room.

He moved the seat back and immediately he felt his legs go limp under him. They had been pinned so tightly that they were beginning to lose circulation. He moved his left leg just fine, it was just a little sore. But when he tried to move his right leg he felt that pain again. He looked down at his leg and noticed that he had a big tear in his pants. He ripped the tear to see if there was anything with major damage.

He saw that it was a really deep cut, but it wasn't bleeding too profusely. He could move his leg, but not without some pain. He quickly tried to open his door without any luck. He realized that his window was open and decided that he had to find Gabby. So he began to climb out of it and was suddenly hit with another sharp pain but, that wasn't about to stop him. Painfully, he made it out of the window and looked at the two cars.

Troy's car was completely smashed in; how he survived he really didn't know. The truck that had hit him was pretty damaged as well. Troy began to walk towards the truck when he heard a loud pop coming from his car. The airbags had gone off. He secretly thanked god that he still wasn't pinned because that would have surely snapped

his neck.

He looked at the truck driver and he saw that he was also wearing his seatbelt and was breathing. He didn't see any blood so he went around the back to see if he could find Gabriella.

"Gabriella!" he yelled. He didn't hear anything and he felt his heart start to beat faster. He tried to think of where she could be, and why she wasn't in the car. Then he remembered that she wasn't wearing her seatbelt. He felt his stomach go cold and began to walk, or rather limp to the side of the car that she was on.

"Gabby? Please answer me!" he felt tears start to well up in his eyes but he kept looking. He looked between the two cars and didn't see anything. Then he remembered that they were near a ditch and started to run over here despite the pain that was going through his body. He didn't have to run far to find what he was looking for.

"GABRIELLA!" he yelled as he saw her laying face down in the ditch. How she got there he didn't know. He went over to where she was and he collapsed.

Her left leg was bent in ways a human leg shouldn't be. He gently rolled her over even though he knew that he wasn't supposed to. Her left arm was covered in gravel and it looked as though it were embedded in her skin. It also looked like some skin was sagging in the middle which led Troy to the conclusion that this too was broken. He leaned down to her mouth to feel if she was breathing. She was but it didn't sound good.

Her breaths were slow and ragged, almost as if there was something in her chest. He tried to clear the grass and dirt from her face and found a big wound in the back of her head.

"Oh my god, no please." He said as he began to sob. He heard a man call from behind him but he sounded so far away. He turned around and yelled for the man to get help. Troy looked back down at Gabriella and pulled her closer to him. He suddenly heard her groan and looked into at her face.

"Gabby?"

"Troy? Wh-what happened?" she said while trying to open her eyes.

"Gabby, we were in an accident; everything is going to be fine. Just stay with me. Ok? I am right here."

"Troy, I can't feel anything. What's going to happen to me?" she said as she began to panic as well.

"No, don't be scared sweetie; I am right here just keep looking at me. Right at me ok?"

"Troy, I'm so tired…." She whispered and suddenly closed her eyes.

"No Gabby! Wake up baby, please. Wake up!" he began to yell desperately.

"Please, don't go. You promised me." He looked down at her hand and saw the ring he had given her earlier that day and began to cry even harder.

"You can't leave me. Not yet." He whispered in her ear and suddenly fell into an unconscious state.

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You guys are probably going to hate me for ending this chapter here…….but remember I still love all of you! Please keep reviewing and it really only gets better from here. Remember this is almost finished…….


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

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Troy woke up in the ER. He saw both his mother and father standing with their backs facing him. He could even tell from behind how worried and tense they were.

"Mom, dad?" he said softly. They quickly turned around and rushed to him.

"Troy! Oh my baby…" his mom began to sob.

"Son, we were so worried." His dad said. He looked at his dads face and knew that he had been crying as well.

"How long have I been here?"

"Almost three hours. You were in and out of consciousness. You had a small concussion from the accident." Troy lifted his hand to his forehead again and felt that it was all bandaged up. He looked down at his leg and saw that it was bandaged as well.

"They had to give you a few stitches for your leg and your forehead. You only have to stay the night so they make sure you don't have complications with the concussion. We are just so happy you are ok." his dad said.

"Where's Gabby? I have to see her!" Troy said suddenly trying to get out of his bed. His dad quickly but gently put his hand on his chest to lay him back down.

"You can't do that right now Troy. You need to rest. That was a nasty cut you had."

"No dad, I need to see her. Where is she, is she ok?" he parents looked at each other and exchanged worried glances.

"Mom, dad. You need to tell me right now, where is Gabby?"

"Sweetie, you need to relax and then we can talk." His mother said trying to be soothing.

"Mom, I can't calm down unless you tell me." His mother looked at his father and he then nodded his head.

"Troy, I will tell you but you can't get worked up. They are doing everything they can." His dad said calmly. Troy felt his hands begin to get sweaty and his heart was about to beat out of his chest.

"What's going on?" he said as calmly as he possibly could.

"Her injuries were a little more complicated. She wasn't wearing her seat belt and was thrown from the car. She was unconscious immediately so they don't think she was in any pain." Troy started to feel his whole body go limp and started to breathe more heavily.

"And….?" He said softly.

"She has some road rash on both of her arms; they have to scrub some of the gravel out. Her left arm was broken, as well as her right leg. She had a deep wound in the back of her head. The impact was causing her brain to swell and they were worried that there might be some hemorrhaging in her brain." Troy sat silently taking it all in. how could this have happened to his Gabriella.

"Where is she now?"

"She is still in surgery son, there was some internal bleeding, they needed to find it and stop it before she bled to death."

"But she is still alive?" Troy asked with some hope.

"Yes. They really are doing everything they can at the moment. I am so sorry Troy." Troy began to feel like he couldn't breathe. His chest was tight and his heart wouldn't stop pounding. He raised his hands to his face and began to cry freely.

"Troy, honey. Do you want anything?" his mom asked trying to make him feel better.

"Yes, I want Gabriella to be here instead of me. Why her? She didn't do anything!" he began to get really emotional and his dad got the hint that maybe he needed to leave his son alone.

"Troy, your mother and I will go get you something to drink. We will be right back." Troy waited until they exited he room to start crying again. All he could think about was the promise she had made to him so long ago.

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Troy was shaken awake by a nurse that needed to take his temperature and blood pressure. He looked around and saw that his parents were gone. He also looked at the clock and noticed that he had been asleep for over two hours. He didn't even remember dozing off.

"Do you know where my mother and father are?"

"They are in the waiting room speaking with some of your friends. Would you like me to go get them for you?" the nurse replied without even looking at him.

"Um, yeah if you could that would be great, thanks." The nurse nodded and wrote some things down on her clipboard before leaving again. He sat up a little straighter in bed and tried to stretch out. He winced with pain as he tried to move his leg and decided to give up on moving anywhere.

He leaned back on his pillows and started thinking about Gabriella. By the time he had talked to his parents it had been three hours since the accident. So by now it had to have been about five hours. So she had to be out of surgery. Maybe his parents would give him some good news and he could go see her. He heard talking in the hallway and saw his mom and dad's faces appear.

"Hey son, how are you feeling?" his dad said while he walked up to his bed side."

"Do you really want me to answer that? Dad, how is Gabby?"

"She is out of surgery."

"How did it go? Can I go see her?" he started to say excitedly.

"No son, I'm afraid you can't yet. She is in the ICU, strictly doctors and nurses right now. They haven't even let Mrs. Montez back there yet."

"Well, how is she?" Troy's mother and father looked at each other like they had done when he had asked him how she was the first time, so he knew that it wasn't good.

"Dad?" Troy asked softly.

"They did stop the bleeding Troy; I guess her pancreas had ruptured. As for her head, they had to make an opening in her skull to relieve the swelling in her brain. They also had to place a drain in the back of her head, where the neck and skull meet to drain and fluids that might build up." Troy sat in silence for a moment while he took it all in. he didn't have to be a doctor to know that her chances were really slim.

"What about her arm and her leg? I mean could they fix that?" he said calmly.

"Yes, they fixed them; the road rash on her arms and hands was also taken care of. Son, I am so sorry."

"I know dad." Troy sat there basically in shock. He had no control over what was happening and that absolutely killed him. He couldn't just rush in there and make everything ok. The love of his life could die and he couldn't do a damn thing about it. He put his face down into his hands and tried to remember her face. He was trying to remember anything he possibly could so he could hold on to it.

"Is there any way I could talk to her doctor?"

"I'm sure I could find out for you honey. I will go check. In the meantime, Chad and your other friends are waiting outside in the waiting room. They are all so worried. Do you want me to send one of them in?" his mom asked. He could tell that all she really wanted was for Troy to cheer up.

"Yeah mom, that'd be great." He said trying to smile for her. She nodded and walked out of his room.

"Well, I have to go get some things taken care of with the insurance company."

"Oh dad, whatever happened to the man that hit us?"

"He is actually fine; he seemed to have lost control of the wheel. They don't know if he got distracted or if he just wasn't looking."

"Right." Troy looked down. Just thinking about someone's carelessness doing this to Gabriella made his blood boil. To think that that man walked away without a scratch and Gabby was lying in the hospital barely clinging on didn't seem fair. All Troy wanted to do was make him hurt as much as he had hurt Gabriella.

"I know how you must feel right now, but the important thing is to make sure you get better, Ms. Montez as well. I will be back soon." His dad said as if had read his mind. Troy nodded and sat back to wait for one of his friends to come in. it didn't take long for Chad to peek his head around the corner.

Troy could tell that Chad had probably taken it harder than he made it seem. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was puffy. But of course, you could never get him to admit that.

"Hey Chad, thank you for coming man." Troy said trying his best to smile for his best friend. Chad gave him a half assed smile too and walked up to his bed side.

"Um, how are you feeling?" Chad asked. Troy could tell that Chad was probably the most uncomfortable he had been in a long time.

"Seriously?"

"No, not seriously, that was stupid question." Chad said while trying to think of something else. Troy sat there for a moment and started to feel bad so he decided to let Chad off the hook.

"Listen, you being here is enough. You don't have to say anything." Chad looked up and nodded at Troy.

"Everyone is really sorry about what happened. We are all praying for her." Chad whispered. Troy nodded showing that he did appreciate what his friend had just said. Then he remembered something that he really wanted to share with him.

"I asked her to marry me Chad." Chad looked up and looked like he was about to choke up.

"You did?"

"Yeah, before the accident…..I asked her, and she said y-yes." Troy said as he felt a lump rise in his throat. Chad put his hand on Troy's shoulder to try and comfort him.

"You are still going to marry her, and I am going to be standing right next to you watching her walk down the aisle. Troy looked at his best friend and smiled.

"Thank you." He said appreciating what his friend was doing.

They sat there in silence for a few moments just appreciating each others company when a nurse came in asking for Troy.

"I'm Troy." He responded wearily.

"Hello Troy, your parents have given me permission to allow Ms.Gabriella Montez's doctor to speak with you, would that be alright. Troy looked at Chad and nodded at the nurse.

"Do you want me to stay man?" Chad asked quietly.

"No, I think I need to be alone for this. But could you do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"Don't leave yet, I may need your help later. Tell everyone that I am fine and to keep praying for Gabriella."

"Ok sure, I will be in the waiting room." Chad said before getting up to leave. Troy watched his friend leave and felt his heart start to race. He knew that his mom had probably asked the doctor to speak to Troy, but it still made him nervous as hell. He sat patiently waiting for the doctor and then he heard a knock at the door.

"Troy Bolton?" a man in scrubs said. Troy assumed it was the doctor and nodded for him to come in.

"Hello, I am Doctor Clark, may I have a seat?" he said while pointing to the chair next to Troy's bed. He sat down and opened up a folder he had in his hands. Troy looked at it and saw Gabriella's name scribbled on the top of it. Troy gulped and prepared himself for the worst.

"I have gotten permission from both of your parents, by both I mean yourself and Ms. Gabriella Montez's legal guardians." Troy nodded trying not to look too upset. He couldn't help but brace himself.

"Now, I have here that she was not wearing a sear belt, is that correct?"

"Yes sir." Troy said softly. How had he not checked that before they had left? How did he not make sure? It wasn't like her not to wear a seat belt, but then again, they were only like 5 minutes away from their school. He knew that wasn't any excuse and brought himself back to listen to what the doctor was saying.

"Now, we don't usually release any details to people who aren't related to the patients, but it has been requested by Gabriella's mother that you know some specific details."

"Specific details?" Troy asked confused. He thought that he had known everything, what weren't they telling him?

"Son, I'm sorry to tell you that there was nothing we could do." Right then, Troy felt his world fall apart.

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Uh oh! Just kidding, sorry it took so long to update, I guess the website was having problems, here is Chapter 14, hope you enjoyed, and remember, the more you review the more I update! And again, thank you all so much.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot. **

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Troy sat there trying to process what the doctor was saying. Why hadn't anyone told him? Did they think he couldn't take it?

"Doctor, tell me exactly what you mean….." Troy said, he realized his voice was so shaky it was extremely hard for him to get even those words out of his mouth.

"The impact of the crash caused way too much stress on her body. It just couldn't take it."

"But, she went into surgery, I mean they told me she would be ok…." Troy started to say. This was all too much for him. How could this have happened?

"The surgery just increased the damages; I know this is hard for you, being the father…" Troy sat there for a moment just hearing the blood pumping in his ears. His Gabby was gone….then he realized, he wasn't anyone's father.

"Whoa wait a minute, the father? I think there has to be a mistake here."

"No, no mistake I'm afraid. You are the father of Gabriella Montez's child am I correct?"

"Child? Gabby was pregnant?"

"Yes, about three months along. Were you not aware?"

"I had no clue. She never told me." Troy said in disbelief.

"Well, her mother knew, she was well aware of that."

"Wait, how is Gabriella? Does she know about the baby?"

"Gabriella is fine, she is recuperating from surgery. It did take a toll on her body, of course as is the case for any major surgery. She does not know about the child yet. She is still waking up from surgery. Everything went as well as it possibly could in these cases. Of course we aren't out of the blue yet, but she has shown to be a real fighter. We are expecting a full recovery."

"Doctor, thank you so much. Would you please let me know when I could go see her?"

"Yes, as long as it is alright with both of your parents, I will send a nurse to help you out." The doctor nodded and got up and walked out of the room. Troy let out a huge sigh of relief and sat back.

Then the thought hit him that Gabriella was pregnant, and that her mother was fully aware of that. Why hadn't anyone told him? Why hadn't Gabriella told him? Of course he was so relieved that Gabriella was alright, and that she would make it through this. But he couldn't help but feel such sadness over the thought that they had lost a child.

He felt tears creeping up into his eyes at the thought of raising a baby with her. Something that would have been a part of them both. He couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if she did have the baby. There was no doubt in his mind that they would keep it. And then they would have their own family.

He started to think of holding his son or daughter in his arms with Gabriella smiling by his side. He felt a smile come to his face and then he felt it quickly go away when he remembered that that wasn't going to happen. She wasn't pregnant anymore; the baby was in fact dead.

Troy buried his face in his hands and just stayed there for a moment crying to himself. He didn't know why it had affected him so deeply; he didn't even know that she was pregnant. He should be happy because she was alive. And he was, but he was still grieving the death of another.

A few moments later he heard a knock at the door and started to wipe his tears.

"Come in." he said trying to cover up the fact that he was crying. The door opened and he saw Gabriella's mother come in.

"Ms. Montez, what are you doing here?" he asked. He was completely surprised by her visit and couldn't help but think that she might be a little upset that he was the one who crashed the car, or that he was the one that had gotten Gabriella pregnant at such a young age.

"Hello Troy, I wanted to come see how you were feeling." She said. She had a very motherly aura about her, he couldn't help but feel safe just being in her presence.

"I am about as ok as I could be I guess. How are you?"

"I am fine, knowing that my baby is ok."

"Yeah, me too."

"So the doctor did come to speak with you?" she asked as she took a seat next to him.

"Yes he did. I-I have to be honest with you, I really don't know what to say to you….I had no idea." He said as he hung his head.

"I know that already Troy. Gabriella thought that maybe it would have been best to tell you later, after school was out. She didn't want to cause you anymore stress." He smiled as he thought about Gabriella worrying about him when she was the one who was pregnant.

"She was always worrying about others, never herself."

"She still is Troy, everything will be fine." She said as she placed one of her hands unto his own.

"Ms. Montez, I have something I need to be honest with you about."

"What is that Troy?"

"I asked Gabriella to marry me, before the accident. She said yes, and I intend on making that happen. I mean, if it is alright with you of course." He said trying his hardest to seem firm.

"I kind of assumed that." She said smiling. She then reached into her purse and pulled out a small bag. Inside of it was Troy's ring.

"Where did you-"

"The nurse gave it to me along with her other possessions. I know I would have noticed it before, and Gabriella doesn't keep anything from me. Now, it may have been a little hasty for me to assume that you had proposed, but lets just say it was mothers intuition."

Troy reached out and took the ring from her hand. He looked at it and remembered when Gabriella let him slide it on her finger. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by her mother's voice.

"I know that she will be wanting it back, so until then, you hold on to it. She wont want anyone else to put it in its rightful place but you." Troy smiled at her and couldn't help but give her a hug. She welcomed his hug and began patting him on the back. He knew then that he had her blessing and one day Gabriella would be his wife.

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Troy tried to fall asleep but was failing miserably. Everyone had gone home, except Gabriella's mom who was still in the waiting room and Chad who was falling asleep in the chair that was in Troy's room. Troy still had to stay a few nights just to make sure he didn't have any complications with the concussion.

He couldn't stop thinking about Gabriella lying alone in her hospital bed without him. He had been reassured numerous times that she would be ok, and that she just needed to recuperate, but he wouldn't be ok until he saw her in front of him.

Every hour or so a nurse would come in and take his temperature and blood pressure. He knew that that probably had a lot to with him not being able to sleep. He looked at his best friend who was snoring now. He knew it couldn't be comfortable in that chair but Chad had refused to leave due to the fact that he had promised Troy he wouldn't.

Troy looked at the clock and saw that it was almost three in the morning. The nurse would be coming in any minute now. He laid back and started to think. Maybe he could see Gabriella. He was still in the ICU as well, just in a different room. Maybe Chad could help him find her room and he could just see her.

"Chad…..Chad wake up." He started to say. Chad stirred for a minute and then went back to snoring. Troy didn't want to say anything too loudly so he looked around to see if he could find anything to help him in waking Chad up. He saw that he had a water bottle that someone had left in his room earlier that day. He grabbed it and was about to throw it when he heard someone come into the room.

Troy quickly his the water bottle under his blanket and pretended to be asleep. He felt someone come to his side and start to shake him awake.

"Mr. Bolton?" the nurse said softly.

"Yeah." He said trying to sound groggy so she wouldn't get suspicious.

"I'm sorry to wake you but I need to take your blood pressure and temperature. Could you sit up for me?" he quickly nodded and sat up straight. He sat patiently waiting for her to finish and looked over at Chad. He really was a heavy sleeper. She finished up and left the room and he grabbed the bottle again.

"Chad..." he whispered again without any success in waking his friend. He sighed and then threw the bottle right at him. Chad quickly jumped up and started to look around.

"What the hell is going on?" he said kind of loudly. He then remembered where he was and he looked at Troy.

"Dude, what are you doing?" he asked.

"I need your help."

"What do you need to go to the bathroom? I mean I can get a nurse for you or something….."

"No, I need to see Gabriella. I need your help."

"Um ok, I understand or whatever, but how do you suggest we do that?" Chad said trying to rub the sleepiness out of his eyes.

"I need you to find out what room she is in, and then we are going to sneak past the nurse's desk, go to her room; I will go in while you stand outside watching for anyone. Got it?" Chad sat there and stared at troy in disbelief.

"Listen, I told you I would help you out, but I'm not Superman. That sounds like something out of a spy movie."

"I know, so I knew that it would be right up your alley right? I mean, you did watch Charlie's angels an awful lot when we were younger……"

"Ok, I got it. Just give me a second." Chad said cutting him off. Troy knew that just bringing that up would make Chad uncomfortable and that he would have to go through with it. He knew better, but he was desperate.

He sat up in his bed and looked around for something to put on. He saw a pair of sweats that his parents had brought over earlier in case he wanted to change. Next to them was a shirt that said East high Wildcats on it. He couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness wash over him when he looked at it and thought of Gabriella wearing it when she would spend the night at his house.

He tried to get out of his bed quickly to get dressed when he realized that an I.V. was still in his arm. He looked around to see if he could find a stand to take with him but he couldn't see anything. He knew he didn't have time to waste so he carefully took the tape off around the needle and took the needle out with one swift tug. He flinched and held his fingers on it to see if he could stop it from bleeding.

He sat there for a minute and then removed his fingers from the tiny hole. It didn't bleed a lot just like he had hoped for so he quickly got to getting dressed. When he stood up he felt a wave of dizziness hit him. He hadn't stood up since being there and it probably didn't help that he was on a lot of morphine for the pain. He closed his eyes to try and make it go away and stood still for a second. He felt it pass and started to pull the shirt on over his head. He carefully pulled his pants on over his bandaged leg and sat back down on the bed to wait for Chad.

He heard the door knob turn and was relieved to see Chad appear.

"Did you get it?"

"Hell yes I did. I was so stealth man you should have seen it-"

"I hate to interrupt you but we have about forty five minutes till the next nurse comes in to check up on me." Chad nodded and walked over to Troy to help him up out of his bed. Troy put his arm around Chad's shoulders for support and then nodded his head towards the door. They got to the door when Chad put Troy's arm down.

"Wait here while I check to see if the coast is clear." Chad said in his "Spy" voice. Troy couldn't help but smile at his friend. Chad slipped out into the hallway and was gone for about a second before he came back in and grabbed Troy's arm again. They made their way into the hallway looking for a sign to see where they were going.

"Ok she is in room 345, you are in room 335. So, we can't be that far." Chad said quietly. Troy nodded and looked at the room numbers.

"We have to keep going straight. The room numbers get smaller heading my way, so they have to get bigger going that way." Troy said back to him. Chad nodded and continued walking holding Troy to support his weight.

Walking further and further down the hall Troy couldn't help but get tense. Chad must have noticed because he mentioned it as they kept walking.

"It's ok man, I'm sure Gabriella is just fine, and she is waiting for you to come see her." Troy couldn't respond to that because all he could think about was seeing her and just making sure that what Chad was saying was true.

Before Troy knew it they were standing outside of her door. Troy let a long breath escape him as he stood next to Chad.

"Are you ready to do this man?" Chad said looking around to make sure no one was coming.

"Yeah, I am." Troy said quietly.

"Ok, well hurry dude, I mean the have cameras in this place and they might think that we are some crazy killers or something." Chad said nervously. Troy nodded and took his weight off of Chad. Chad made sure that Troy would be ok walking in there by himself and then opened the door for him. Troy wobbled into the room and closed the door quietly behind him.

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**Oh my gosh! So much love from all of you ! I was so amazed. I really don't hope any of you thought I was mean enough to kill Gabriella…..yet. Ok I wont tease anymore. But thank you for the reviews! I am sorry it took so long to update! I promise that wont happen again! But for now I hope you enjoyed and PLEASE keep reviewing I love it! Thanks again!**


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